


Contractually Yours

by xxashleyxx



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Daxam (Supergirl TV 2015), F/M, Forced Marriage, Krypton, Marriage Contracts, Prince Mon-El (Supergirl TV 2015), Princess Kara Zor-El, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2019-10-02 06:16:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17259089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxashleyxx/pseuds/xxashleyxx
Summary: Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,
> 
> Come by and read my post on Twitter for a little additional info (https://twitter.com/_ashleymaria_/status/1080135855186952197), but just as a recap:
> 
> I've been working on this AU for a LONG time now and even though I'm not finished writing it, I'm tired of keeping it all to myself and I need to post it all to share with you lovely people. It's been hard for me to write karamel in the Supergirl universe because I'm still bitter, so I've been focusing on this AU instead. I truly (and selfishly) feel like it's one of my best works, so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
> 
> Not much to explain about the plot, as all will be explained in time. I'm rating this as Mature right now, but some chapters will eventually be Explicit. Basically, there are sexual themes throughout, but not a lot of graphic stuff. I'll post a warning in the Notes in the beginning if such scenes exist.
> 
> As always, I love hearing what you think, so please leave me a comment if you have the time! I really appreciate it!

_Nearly thirty lightyears away from Earth was a small planet by the name of Minerva. It was a planet known only to the life forms that lived there and those in the close surrounding space of the universe. Human-like life forms inhabit the planet; ones with the ability to live and sustain normal lives with fewer resources than required by humans on Earth._

_The planet’s population had always consisted of both Kryptonians and Daxamites; two humanoid races that are similar in physical and biological characteristics, language and activities, yet are vastly different when it comes down to preferences, attitudes and lifestyles._

_The Kryptonian race was made up of scientists, engineers, philosophers and similar creative and intelligence-focused beings, led by a King and Queen set on expanding the knowledge and technological advances of the planet._

_Alternatively, the Daxamite race consisted of laid-back partiers and self-entitled, narcissistic beings, constantly in search of their own pleasure, led by a King and Queen focused on their own selfish needs._

_Both races managed for hundreds of years to run a peaceful and civil society amongst each other. Half of the planet Minerva was largely reserved for Kryptonians, the other half for Daxamites, but each race was encouraged by their leaders to share their space with the other. Each side of the planet had its own obvious Royal residence; a Palace for each King and Queen of both races, separate from each other with its own rules and procedures. Neither Royal Family interfered with the other, leaving both sets of Royal inhabitants to guide the lives of their people in whichever way they saw fit._

_Though the Kryptonians spent most of their time focusing on bettering their society, they remained at a disadvantage when it came to defence and their military forces; they having chosen to improve their way of life rather than work on the protection of their people._

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the Daxamites had spent what little focus they had in between moments of finding their own happiness on building up an army of troops; men and women who were fully trained and ready for battle, all unbeknownst to the Kryptonians who were too busy working on creating technological advances to take notice._

_The Kryptonians never saw the attack coming; the Daxamite invasion occurring in the middle of the night while the Kryptonians slept peacefully and safely in their homes. There was bloodshed and destruction; the obliteration of everything the Kryptonians held dear. Some lives were lost, but the majority of the race was forced to escape; forced to flee the planet Minerva for safer territory. They had to find a new home away from Minerva and away from the Daxamites who had been concocting their evil plan to take over the entire planet for themselves. The Kryptonians had no choice but to leave willingly, all their resources having been used to develop their ways of life rather than on training any army of their own to fight back._

_The Kryptonian Royal Family survived the invasion and assisted the survivors of the attack in escaping to a nearby moon; a moon that had remained uninhabited due to its underdeveloped structures and having fewer resources than on the planet Minerva. Any previous Daxamite or Kryptonian inhabitants had long since travelled from the moon to Minerva with the intention of starting or continuing their lives there rather than attempting to build the moon into a liveable world._

_Upon forcing the Kryptonians onto their new moon, the Daxamite Royal Family renamed Minerva as Daxam; a planet for their people, and their people alone. Any Kryptonian found on their planet would be put to death if they refused to leave and join their own kind._

_The Kryptonian Royal Family named their newly inhabited moon Krypton and vowed to never allow the Daxamites to take all that they had ever again._

_Decades passed and both Royal Families had evolved; both Kings and Queens having their own children who married and grew up to be rulers of their separate planets upon their death. King Lar Gand and Queen Rhea took over Daxam while King Zor-El and Queen Alura ruled Krypton. To carry on the legacy of each Royal Family, Prince Mon-El Gand of Daxam was born, as was Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton._

_Since the invasion, Daxam had become a near wasteland; buildings and structures were weak and decaying; falling apart with overuse and no repair. Resources of the planet were being hastily wasted and not properly replenished by those outside of the Royal Palace. Society was crumbling with the Daxamite people’s lack of focus and lack of interest in anything other than their own selfish needs. They no longer had the Kryptonians to aide them in maintaining a liveable planet._

_Krypton, on the other hand, was flourishing; buildings as tall as the eye could see, technological advances that put their previous ones to shame, a fully functioning society filled with respect, honour and selflessness. However, even with all their prosperity, the people of Krypton were unhappy. Their planet was becoming crowded, their resources steadily becoming depleted; the moon of Minerva being too small to house all the members of their society, its core beginning to weaken. The Kryptonians were living lives filled with the stresses of constantly trying to better themselves while trying to keep their planet functioning. Their lives were filled with worrying that they would never be good enough to keep up with the other intelligent members of society who they were always competing with in trying to produce and create. They no longer had the influence of the Daxamites who showed them how to relax and have fun._

_As the older generations died off, the hatred that once ran deep through the separate races started to subside, but the stigma over being friends with the opposing planet was still great enough that it kept the two races from ever mending fences._

_Both the Royal Family of Daxam and the Royal Family of Krypton knew that something had to be done in order to ensure that their respective races would mature and prosper and continue to carry on in existence. Something needed to be done in order to reconnect the two races who were seemingly unable to inhabit the same planet and co-exist peacefully like they once had. Something that would show all members of society that they were united with the same goals; to be happy, healthy and together._

_Prince Mon-El Gand of Daxam and Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton would be just the two individuals who were going to make that happen…whether they liked it or not._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave me some love if you can!
> 
> Come chat on Twitter: @_ashleymaria_ . My DM's are always open!


	2. Agreements Among Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "'I think that out of all the things we’ve ever had to convince Kara to do, this is going to be the absolute hardest,' Zor-El sighed as he picked up the pen Alura had placed on the table in front of him." -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> I'm so happy to see that so many of you are as excited about this idea as I am. On to Chapter Two!

_Day One_

Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton sighed heavily to herself, her shoulders lifting and dropping dramatically as she did. She stood in the centre of her walk-in closet, eyes jumping back and forth between two poufy dresses sitting on hangers propped up on the closet wall. Blue or pink. Blue or pink. Decisions, decisions.

She stepped closer to the pink: a pale shade, the skirt flouncing out with layers upon layers of fluffy pink material that would reach her knees. The fluffy skirt was attached to a strapless beaded corset that was now beginning to become more and more obnoxious the longer she stared at it.

Her eyes bounced over to the blue; a royal blue. That was fitting right? _Royal_ blue. She was a member of the Royal Family after all. The bodice was similar to the pink; less beaded detailing with thin shoulder straps and a lot less layers of fluff in the skirt that would reach just above her knees.

_Blue_ , she finally decided.

She pulled the dress from the hanger and held it up in front of herself. The House of El crest sat proudly across the middle. Proudly, but not absurdly. It wasn’t too flashy or too formal; just formal enough for today’s occasion.

Today was her twenty-fifth birthday.

There would be no party; no celebration other than the usual extravagant dinner with her parents. Well, also with the addition of a formal announcement to the people of their planet regarding the occasion. It was nothing new; the same ritual happened every year. She was fine with that of course. She didn’t really know what a real “celebration” consisted of anyway. They didn’t actually have any of them on Krypton. She’d only ever heard the stories from the elders about celebrations back during life on Minerva before their people were forced to leave.

Forced to leave by the _Daxamites_.

She hadn’t even repeated the name aloud, but she could feel the sting; the acidic burning on her tongue at having to even just think about those selfish, immoral beings that her people were once forced to live alongside. She shook her head forcefully. _No, not today_. She would _not_ let those monsters into her thoughts on today of all days. Today was _her_ day.

She finally stepped into the blue dress, slid it up her form and secured the straps on her shoulders. Her fingers tugged the zipper up the side of her body, the bodice tightening almost uncomfortably, the boning of the corset stabbing at her underarm and hip awkwardly. She could swear that the dress had fit better in the store when she and Alex were picking it out. Regardless, she assumed that she could put up with it for a few hours. It was only for one day anyway.

She walked toward her full length mirror and stared back at her reflection. She tucked some of her delicately curled blonde hair behind her ear (it took her forever to curl it herself) as she focused on her own eyes staring back at her from the glass. She smiled, her toothy grin reflecting back at her to remind herself that she didn’t need a celebration today. She was happy with her life and what she had on Krypton. She didn’t feel like she was missing out on anything at all.

Kara didn’t know much about life on Minerva. Her parents never spoke much of it, they having never lived there themselves to begin with. Like herself, they were both born on Krypton; her father having been the only son of the previous Royal Family. Krypton had just found its footing before Zor-El had been born and he’d only known the life that Krypton had offered. Alura was born soon after he was, the two of them meeting when they had reached secondary school on the planet, a tight friendship being established between the two of them as they grew into adulthood.

Zor-El had gone to the planet’s sole university and studied Kryptonian science while Alura focused on studying Kryptonian law. It wasn’t until Zor-El was twenty-five and leaving university that he’d finally pursued Alura. His parents had welcomed the Kryptonian into their Royal home and were pleased when they’d finally married.

Kara had never met her Royal grandparents; the invasion that had forced their people onto the moon they now called Krypton was hard on them. The stress of having to lead their broken people into forming a new planet was a lot to take on and they had passed before Kara was born. She’d never met her mother’s parents. They had really just faded into the distance before they too had passed away; they not having been pleased with Alura marrying into the Royal Family; the Royal Family that failed to protect their people from the Daxamites.

After all that, Kara knew that she had to help her parents take care of Krypton and their people. She knew they were facing hard times. Even after such a short period of time on the moon, they were running out of resources and were struggling to find ways to sustain their lives on this small moon. She knew she had to do whatever she could to help them. That’s why she’d chosen to remain at home, living in the Royal Palace instead of going off on her own. She hadn’t even attended university; choosing to be tutored by her parents instead. That way she could focus more on their planet and rebuilding what the Daxamites stole from them; could focus on trying to make their people’s lives the best they could be.

Kara continued to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her hands smoothed out the blue dress, its bodice wrapped tightly around her form. She _was_ happy. She had nothing to complain about. She had a family that loved her. A best friend who completely understood her. People that respected her. A beautiful home filled with entertainment, books, clothing, anything her heart could desire.

Right here, she had everything she needed.

* * *

Prince Mon-El of Daxam groaned as the light of the red sun streamed through the space between the curtains of his bedroom window, the rays shining right in his face. _Morning already?_ His eyes fluttered open as he briefly took in his surroundings before he immediately slammed them shut. He groaned again, louder this time. Rao, he had a headache and his brain felt fuzzy inside his skull. He huffed loudly as he tried to sit up. _Tried_ being the operative word.

An arm was draped across his naked torso, fingernails nearly digging into the skin at his side and holding him in place on the mattress. His own arm was wrapped around the woman in his bed while they had slept, his fingers somehow managing to get caught in her brunette tresses that cascaded longer than halfway down her back.

His free hand moved upward and landed on his forehead, fingers pressing harshly into his own skin. His head was _pounding_ ; an incessant hammering inside his brain telling him that he should have drank less last night, or at least slept a little later into the morning than he already had. He moved with purpose and finally succeeded in sitting upright and fully opening his eyes, the unknown woman next to him whining as she shifted into a new position with her back to him. Both of his hands rubbed at his eyes as he urged himself into consciousness and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, feet hitting the floor as he tried to stand up.

He exhaled heavily. Whew, it was going to be a rough morning. He was twenty-eight and a Daxamite for Rao’s sake. He should know how to hold his liquor by now. He took a few steps forward before being overcome by a dizzy spell. Maybe holding his liquor wasn’t the problem. Next day recovery seemed to be the hard part.

He grabbed at his pants from last night lying on the floor near his bed and pulled them on. He moved toward the window; his hands noisily pushing it open, the panes swinging outward as a soft breeze blew into his bedroom. He looked out at the recently abandoned building closest to the Royal Palace. Frankly, this part of the city was turning into a shithole too and he was sick of having to look at it every day.

He heard the woman in his bed groan and shift, her clearly naked body suddenly moving into an upright position as she called out to him. “My Prince…”

He turned to look back at her. She lifted a hand in the air, her finger pointing outward and at him before curling backward toward herself. She had a grin on her face that told him exactly what she was calling him back to bed for.

He sighed heavily. “I feel like shit Layla--”

“It’s Leia,” she frowned.

“Whatever. Same thing. You’re gonna have to go.”

She pouted at him before crawling onto her hands and knees, moving toward the edge of the bed closest to him. “But,” she started to whine at him.

“Rao, just get out of my bed and go _home_ ,” he groaned, his hands cupping his forehead as he pressed against his skull, wishing he could relieve the pressure on his brain.

Leia huffed loudly before standing and proceeding to find her clothes from their place on his bedroom floor and pull them on. “You don’t have to be a dick about it,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Excuse me?” he said, turning toward her, his hands dropping from his forehead. “Is that how you talk to the _Prince_ of Daxam?”

Her eyes widened quickly before shrinking into tiny, glaring slits. “No, my Prince. I apologize. That was erroneous of me. Please forgive me for my wrongdoing.”

“Now leave,” he demanded and Leia quickly moved out of the room, closing the door gently behind herself before he could hear her feet racing down the hallway of the Palace.

He sighed. He was so sick of the types of women who came in droves to parties and clubs and threw themselves at him. Sure, the sex was fun, the drinking was great, the parties were crazy, but them acting like he owed them anything? Them acting like he was equal to them? Ridiculous. He was the Prince of Daxam and he should always be treated as such.

His eyes moved down to his watch sitting on his bedside table. _11:37am_. It was getting late. He’d better get downstairs and have breakfast before he had to hear his mother complain to him about his tardiness. She was good at criticizing and he’d rather not have to listen to that with this headache. He raced through a shower, standing under the water’s spray for mere minutes before throwing on some fresh clothes and heading out to the Dining Hall.

* * *

 

King Zor-El took a sip from his mug as he continued to stare at his wife across the breakfast table.

“So?” she asked him, her voice hesitant. “What’d you think?”

“I think that out of all the things we’ve ever had to convince Kara to do, this is going to be the _absolute hardest_ ,” Zor-El sighed as he picked up the pen Alura had placed on the table in front of him.

“I know. Believe me, I know. But what else can we do?” He watched as her face fell into her hands.

“We can think of another option. Find a solution that works for us _all_ ,” he said plainly, but he had no further options or solutions to provide her with. They’d been running in circles trying to figure out another way to make this happen.

“Zor-El, we have to do this. We’re _out_ of options. Our planet is falling apart. Our people are suffering here.”

“ _Suffering_ might be a strong word…” he said as he twirled the pen between his fingers, clearly trying to avoid the inevitable for a little while longer.

“This moon is small, Zor-El. It’s not a planet; we can’t keep living here with our resources running out like this. We’re falling apart. We didn’t choose this for our people; we’re making good with what we have available to us, but this,” she tapped her finger on the stack of papers in front of him, “this will get us out of here. Our people are _unhappy_. How can we call ourselves good rulers or a suitable Royal Family if we can’t even keep our people happy? What would we be then?”

He picked up his mug again, taking another sip as his eyes left his wife’s. “The Daxamites are able to have slavery and endless parties where each and every one of them manages to be completely inebriated beyond lucidity and _we’re_ ruling the planet without happiness?”

“Zor-El,” she sighed, “we need to fix this. We need to mend fences,” Alura stated firmly. “You and I…we both know that this is the only way. Kara will, too. She’s a smart girl. She’ll understand.”

“This is our daughter we’re talking about here, Alura. She’s too old for us to be making decisions like _this_ for her.”

“She’ll make the _same_ decision.”

“Don’t pretend that this was your idea,” he shook his head as he stared down at the papers in front of him.

“I know that Rhea approached us…”

“You,” he corrected as his eyes flicked back to hers again. “Rhea approached _you_ because she knew you were an easy target.”

“She approached me because she knows I studied Kryptonian law.”

“Kryptonian law and Daxamite law are two _very_ different things, Alura,” Zor-El clicked his tongue at her. “She knows about our situation here. She knows we need a way out and _she_ drew up this contract to make sure that _they_ win in the end.”

“Zor-El, we _all_ win.”

“All of us except Kara.”

Alura sighed heavily. “Our races have done it before. We’ve managed to exist on the same planet for hundreds of years; sharing space and maintaining civility. We can do it again. The contract will just help things to move along faster. It’ll help our people. If the Royal Families can agree, they’ll see that they can, too.”

“And Kara…” he prodded.

“She’ll be okay. Maybe this will be good for her? We don’t know the boy yet. Maybe he could be the best thing for her.”

“Or the worst possible thing for her…”

Alura nodded at the papers in front of her husband with a small crack of a smile. He sighed before putting his pen to paper, adding his signature on the line across from his wife’s on both copies of the documents. When he put his pen down, Alura picked up the stack of papers before moving to the machine placed in the corner of their sitting room. She moved to push the pages into the slot, the invention taking the documents and sending them through the transmatter portal and directly to a similar machine sitting in the Daxamite Royal Family’s Palace.

“ _You’re_ going to have to convince Kara,” Zor-El stated firmly.

“That’s the point of the contract…we don’t have to convince her. It takes effect with the signatures of the parents. Kara’s signature is only required in showing that she understands the terms therein. It’s already binding. We just have to deliver the news to her and wait for the call.”

* * *

A loud chime echoed through one of the sitting rooms of the Palace belonging to the Royal Family of Daxam and Queen Rhea jumped up from her chair excitedly.

“That’s it!” she ran toward the machine at the edge of the room that had made the sound.

“That’s what?” Lar Gand questioned in return, his eyes drifting up from his screen where he flipped through the morning news.

“The documents! Those Kryptonians actually did it. They _signed_ the documents!” She couldn’t contain herself; she was nearly jumping around on the spot.

“Rhea, you haven’t even _seen_ the documents. How do you know they’ve signed them?”

“Lar Gand, of _course_ , they’ve signed them. Allowing the Kryptonians to come back to Daxam? That’s all they could ever want.”

“The way that those people feel about us, the way your parents treated them and forced them away…I don’t know why you’d ever expect them to want to return to Daxam.”

Rhea pulled the stack of papers from the portal and flipped quickly to the last page.

“Ah ha!” She exclaimed, her finger pointing at the lower half of the last page. “ _Four_ signatures, Lar Gand. _Four signatures_.”

Her husband cocked an eyebrow at her. “Four signatures? Their daughter hasn’t yet signed?”

“She didn’t need to. As agreed in Section I, four signatures…the signatures of all parents binds the contract. Her signature and Mon-El’s…they’re just a formality. As proof that they’ve read and understood the terms of the contract; that they understand what is expected of them in this deal. Just as we have promised something, so have the Kryptonians and so now have the children.”

“That’s just it, Rhea. They’re not children. Mon-El is a _grown man_. He makes his own decisions. How do you expect him to go along with _this_?”

“He doesn’t get a choice,” she stated plainly. “We’ve made the choice for him. And if he wants to continue living under our roof, living with the benefits that being a part of this Royal Family brings, he’s going to sign the contract when and where we tell him to sign. Besides, this happens on our planet all the time. You know that. This will be no different for him than what he would likely have experienced in a few years’ time anyway.”

“Yes, but this _Kryptonian_ girl…surely he’ll have a problem with _that_ part of the equation.”

“Like I said…he doesn’t get a choice in the matter.”

“And what makes you think that the Kryptonian girl is going to sign?”

“ _Formality_ , Lar Gand,” Rhea emphasized. “Merely a formality.”

“Okay, but how do you know that this girl,” his eyes looked down at the contract in her hands, “is going to follow the terms as outlined?”

“She’ll do it. There are consequences for her people if she doesn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave some love if you have the time! 
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	3. Birthdays and Business Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘Me? Is this some kind of joke?’ His voice was loud as he asked, disbelief obvious in his tone. When his mother remained silent, ‘I can assure you that there’s no way in hell I’m getting married. And definitely not to some Kryptonian girl!’” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> (Unfortunately) Just a short update for you guys today. We're still just setting up the scene, so future chapters will be like twice as long, I promise.
> 
> I hope you're all enjoying this one. It's gonna be a bit of a rollercoaster for these two, so enjoy the ride!

_Day One (Continued)_

Kara moved quietly into the dining room, her skirt flouncing about as a grin spread onto her face.

“Good morning, my beloved father,” she kissed Zor-El on the cheek before moving to the other side of the table. “And my treasured mother.” She followed it with another kiss, this time to her mother’s cheek.

Zor-El cleared his throat awkwardly as his eyebrows lifted high on his forehead.

Kara’s eyebrows crinkled. “What?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head after glaring across the table. “Happy Birthday my sweet girl,” she smiled at her daughter. “That’s a beautiful dress. I don’t think I’ve seen you wear it before?”

Kara shook her head. “Alex took me shopping last weekend and she bought it as my birthday gift…then we got our family crest embroidered in the centre.”

“I thought she bought you that fluffy pink one?” her mother cocked an eyebrow.

Kara smiled sheepishly. “She did. She bought me two. She said I’d have something for my next special occasion, too.”

“It must be nice to have such a generous best friend, Kara,” her father piped up from across the table. “I hope you thanked her.”

“I owe her the same treatment on her birthday,” she laughed. “I’ve already promised.”

“Well,” her mother sighed. “You may want to take it off after the Royal Birthday Announcement. We have some…business to attend to and I think this dress might be a little too extravagant.”

“Business?” Kara questioned. “What sort of business and why must _I_ attend?”

“Well, you _are_ a member of the Royal Family,” Zor-El stated. “Aren’t you?”

Kara nodded, “Yes, but--”

“So then you’re a part of Royal Business,” Alura finished. “Besides, it’s a bit of a family trip.”

“Family trip?” Kara questioned, now more confused than ever. “Where are we going?”

“Off world,” her mother stated simply.

Kara’s eyebrows crinkled, “Off world?”

“Daxam,” Zor-El announced, a challenge in his voice directed straight at Alura. _Try to explain that one!_ he dared with his gaze.

“Daxam?!” Kara nearly shouted. “Why?”

“Business to attend to,” Alura repeated.

“With the _Daxamites_? What business could we _possibly_ have with the Daxamites…of all people in this _universe_?”

Zor-El hid his grin from the girls with his mug. He knew this wasn’t going to be as easy as Alura thought it would be.

“We’re working on mending fences, Kara. Us three and them three. The King, Queen and their son.” She held out her hand next to her. “Sit for a minute, sweetheart.”

Kara huffed as she plopped down in the chair next to her mother.

“When you look around outside, you can tell our resources are running low. This moon is too small, too worn down to act like a planet for us anymore. We can’t all keep living here like this. We have to look into other ways to survive.”

“And you think the Daxamites will help with that?” She scoffed as she looked to her father, whose eyes flicked away and back at Alura. “They wanted us _killed_. Why would they help us survive now?”

“We already have a proposal--”

Zor-El coughed loudly, choking on a sip of his drink.

“--a contract,” Alura corrected subtly.

“Father, are you okay?” Kara asked concerned, her eyes growing wide.

“Fine, sweetheart. Listen to your mother…” he urged as he composed himself.

“We have a contract in place,” Alura continued. “Your father and I have already signed, as have the Daxamite King and Queen. We must travel to Daxam so that you can sign…as well as their son.”

“Why can’t they come here?” Kara asked, crossing her arms on the table in front of her.

“The contract was binding once your father and I signed. We had to send the documents back to Daxam through the portal before the Daxamites would agree to meeting in person. They wanted to be sure that we were serious about the contract.”

Kara sighed loudly, obnoxiously and Alura returned the noise; suddenly frustrated.

“Please, Kara. Just do as you’re told.”

Kara piped down and nodded at her mother. “Well, I guess we should make the announcement and get going then.”

Alura’s heart started to pound in her chest as it suddenly hit her. They had to follow _all_ the terms of the contract. Her eyes flicked to her husband and she could see it in his eyes that he had just fully realized it as well. The sooner they left, the sooner they would lose their daughter.

Kara stood when nobody seemed to have anything more to say. “Well, how long are we going to have to be stuck on that god forsaken planet?” Her eyes were wide and worried. In any other situation, her parents might have laughed at her reaction.

“We’re not sure yet, Kara,” Alura sighed. “We don’t know how long we might be stuck there. Just expect to lose most of the day.”

Kara’s jaw dropped dramatically. “But today’s my _birthday_. What about dinner?”

“There will be other birthdays, Kara…other dinners…” Zor-El said quietly from his seat.

Kara nodded slightly before her gaze drifted to the doorway as Kelex came floating into the room.

“Good morning, Princess Kara. Happy Birthday,” Kelex spoke before stopping mid-air a few feet away from her.

She smiled at the robot. “Good morning, Kelex, and thank you.”

“Your Majesties, the crowd has gathered at the balcony door and they are ready for the annual Birthday Announcement for Princess Kara.”

“Thank you, Kelex,” Alura said as she stood from the table. “Let’s get going Kara. We shouldn’t keep our people waiting. We’ll have a late breakfast afterwards and we’ll likely have to head right over to Daxam.”

Kara stood and straightened out her skirt. “How do I look?” she asked her parents as they moved toward her.

“Like our beautiful Princess,” Zor-El smiled before wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

* * *

“Morning,” Mon-El grunted as he stumbled into the Dining Hall. He plopped down into his usual chair, breakfast already laid out and waiting for him. The other place settings had already been used and cleared, he obviously being the last of the family to come down for breakfast.

“Shall we have the servants bring your lunch immediately after, son?” Lar Gand griped.

Mon-El rolled his eyes. “It’s still before noon, Father. And I’ll have you know I was up _late_ into the night.”

Lar Gand rolled his own eyes. “Yes, we’re all well aware of that,” he said, obviously having unfortunately been privy to what his son had been up to all night. “Your mother has some documents for you to sign,” he said nonchalantly, as if the whole arrangement was nothing to be too concerned about.

“Documents?” he questioned as he looked over to Rhea. She placed the documents in front of Mon-El. “You’re not to sign them yet,” she instructed. “But it would be best that you review the terms before the Royal Family gets here.”

Mon-El furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m hungover, so I’m probably not processing this right, but I’m pretty sure that _we’re_ the Royal Family.”

“The Kryptonian Royal Family,” Rhea clarified.

He laughed, his eyes jumping back and forth between his parents. “Kryptonians? What the hell do we want with them?”

“Read the contract,” his father said simply. “I’ll call and inform them that we’re ready to proceed.” Rhea nodded at him as he left the room.

Mon-El eyed the stack of papers in front of him. The words spanned across the middle of the cover page.

_Contract of Marriage_.

His eyes widened. “Who’s getting married?” he laughed as he flipped to the second page.

_Section 1: Introduction_

  1. _This agreement is entered into by Prince Mon-El Gand of Daxam (herein “Prince Mon-El”) and Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton (herein “Princess Kara”):_



Mon-El stood abruptly, his chair sliding backwards and nearly falling to the floor. “Me? Is this some kind of joke?” His voice was loud as he asked, disbelief obvious in his tone. When his mother remained silent, “I can assure you that there’s no way in hell I’m getting married. And _definitely not_ to some _Kryptonian_ girl!”

“You don’t have a choice, Mon-El. We’re not _asking_ you. This agreement has already been bound. You’re required to follow through with the promises we’ve made.”

“ _We’ve_ not made _any_ promises. _You’ve_ gone off and decided for yourselves!” he shouted as he shoved at the papers. They slid along the table toward Rhea and she shoved them right back toward him as Lar Gand returned.

“That’s exactly what we’ve gone and done,” he spoke as he held the holographic calling device in his hands. He sat down at the table and placed the device in front of himself. He put in the off world request, the call going through, a hologram of Zor-El appearing in front of them.

“We’re ready,” he said simply to the figure that appeared.

“We are _not_ ready!” Mon-El shouted angrily, but his father ignored him.

“We will arrive in two hours’ time,” Zor-El responded before the call quickly went dead.

“This is insane. You two,” he pointed at his parents, “are _insane_. I’m not signing this ridiculous thing,” he shook his head, almost violently as he took a few steps backwards.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Rhea grinned, but her voice was anything but motherly. “I don’t care if you sign it or not. I’ll forge your signature on that line if I have to. Besides, every arranged marriage on this planet is beneficial to both sides. This is no different.”

He laughed loudly. “Yeah, well this…” his eyes drifted back down to the pages in front of him, “ _Kara_ girl is sure as hell not going to sign this! I’m a Daxamite. She’d _never_ sign this!”

“Formality,” Lar Gand stated, repeating his wife’s words from earlier.

“The contract is already binding and in effect, Mon-El. See Section I, Paragraph III.” Rhea was smiling at him and he was ready to throw those damn papers right in her face.

“Son, if you’re not going to eat your breakfast, take those papers with you and prepare yourself for the Kryptonians’ arrival.”

Mon-El angrily swiped the papers off the table. “You always have these plans that you set up, but this will _never_ work. This is going to blow up in your faces.” He turned to leave the room before calling out, “Just watch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I love reading all your comments, so please, keep leaving them!!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	4. Making Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Her eyes drifted down to the cover page in front of her. Contract of Marriage. Kara chuckled lightly. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’ she asked and Mon-El laughed loudly at her unknowing repetition of his words; an obnoxious, sarcastic sound that made her eyebrows furrow.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Thanks for coming back for another chapter. It's longer than the last one, but it'll be a "little" upsetting for Kara. Oops.
> 
> The formatting of this website makes the Law Clerk in me cringe, but anyways, I think it's about time we all got a look at this Contract, don't you think?

_Day One (Continued)_

Kara and her parents stood on the doorstep of the Daxamite Palace as Zor-El reached out to ring the doorbell and notify the Royal Family of their arrival. They had been buzzed in through the front gate and Kara had spent the whole walk to the door of the Palace with her jaw dropped. Who needed _this much_ land on their property? They didn’t have to wait long at the door before a young girl around Kara’s age pulled it open.

“Your Majesties,” she greeted with a slight bow. “Welcome to Daxam.” She stepped aside. “Please come in. The King and Queen are ready to meet with you.”

“Thank you, Miss,” Zor-El nodded as he gestured for Kara and Alura to step inside first.

“I’m sorry,” Kara said sympathetically to the young girl, but she only furrowed her eyebrows confusedly in response. “You’re one of their slaves,” Kara nodded at her and the girl’s gaze drifted to the floor.

“Kara--” Alura started.

“What?” Kara shrugged. “We all know what the Maaldorians do on Slaver’s Moon, don’t we?” She began moving further into the foyer of the giant home. “How much do we want to bet that that’s where she was found? Where she was held after she had been taken from her family?”

“I apologize if my daughter is upsetting you,” Zor-El told the girl. “Please just take us to the Daxamites,” he glared at Kara. “She will keep her judgments to herself.”

“Not judgments,” Kara corrected. “Just facts.”

“Shhh,” Alura shushed her daughter, her hand wrapping around her waist as she moved her toward where the servant was leading them.

They entered a large rectangular room, a long, thin table stretched out across the middle. The King and Queen stood at the doorway and Mon-El sat at the table, arms crossed in front of him, eyes staring down at the stacks of papers on the tabletop.

When his parents spoke in greeting, Mon-El’s eyes left the table and flicked up to the visitors who had just entered. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he noticed Kara. His back straightened, his arms uncrossed and his eyes widened briefly as they landed on her. His gaze drifted up and down her body as he clearly took in her appearance. Was this _her_? The girl he was supposed to marry?

Kara’s gaze connected with Mon-El’s briefly before she watched his eyes flick up and down her form. Well, despite the fact that he was a Daxamite, at least their son was attractive; dark hair, grey eyes, light stubble along his jaw. She could stare at his pretty face while their parents dealt with whatever signing business this meeting was all about. He continued to watch her as they moved further into the room. “Ugh, look at him,” Kara whispered to her mother. “How he’s looking at me? He can’t even trust me standing here in his home.” Alura glanced over at the boy, her own eyes widening slightly as she watched him watch Kara.

“Oh, honey, I’m sure that’s not what it is,” she told her as she released her.

She knew why he was watching her; taking in her appearance so boldly. He must have already read the terms of the contract and was now gauging what he’d been promised.

Lar Gand and Rhea both nodded at the Kryptonians, Lar Gand stretching his hand out in reference to the table behind them. “Shall we sit?”

“Thank you for inviting us into your home,” Alura said politely as the families both sat down at the long table. “It’s lovely.”

Kara looked around the room. It was a conference room it seemed like; perfect for this situation, she supposed, though she couldn’t figure out why they needed a room like this in their home in the first place. How many contracts did these people sign that they needed an entire giant room to execute them? She looked back at Mon-El. And why did their son keep _staring_ at her like that?

“Thank you for agreeing to the terms so quickly. I feel like we’ll make great progress for both our races with this contract,” Rhea returned, but it sounded a lot more formal and business-like rather than pleasant.

“I assume your son has read the terms?” Zor-El questioned, his eyes flicking to Mon-El who sat across from Kara. Mon-El scoffed loudly at his words, obviously in disagreement of said terms.

“He has. He’s signed them as of mere moments ago and he’s aware of what is expected of him,” Lar Gand nodded before looking over at his son.

“Kara hasn’t had a chance to review the terms as of yet. She was not present during the signing before we returned the documents to you.”

Rhea pushed one of the copies of the signed agreement toward Kara. “Then please, Princess Kara, review the conditions so that we may get along with your signing of them.” Rhea was smiling at her, but it made Kara uncomfortable. There was something almost sinister about the look she was giving her. Her eyes moved to Lar Gand who smiled back at her; a little more pleasant than his wife and she cracked a small, polite smile at him in return. When her eyes moved to their son again, he cocked an eyebrow at her as he grinned. Knowing he was a Daxamite, she found his gesture almost suggestive, but due to their familial loathing, she figured he was just referencing the likely ridiculous terms of the contract. Her eyes drifted down to the cover page in front of her.

_Contract of Marriage._

Kara chuckled lightly. “Is this some kind of joke?” she asked and Mon-El laughed loudly at her unknowing repetition of his words; an obnoxious, sarcastic sound that made her eyebrows furrow. Her eyes moved back to Rhea who continued to have the same nearly evil grin on her face. “Who’s getting married?” she questioned as her eyes flicked to her parents’, but they wouldn’t connect with her. They continued to stare down at the table in front of them. Kara flipped open the cover page as her eyes scanned the words in front of her briefly.

She felt her breath catch in her throat, a lump quickly forming that made it difficult to swallow.

“Father?” she questioned as she felt tears starting to burn at the backs of her eyes. “Mother? What is this?”

“It’s a contract, sweetheart,” Alura said softly, her voice cracking as she clearly fought back her own tears.

“A contract for _marriage_ ,” Kara stated in disbelief. “For me and…” her eyes moved and connected with Mon-El’s and he grinned back at her. “And _him_.”

“Princess Kara, please read the terms so that we may move forward with the signing,” Rhea spoke clearly, her voice firm.

Kara shook her head. “This is absurd. Absolutely absurd.”

“Told you,” Mon-El laughed, leaning back in his chair, elbow resting along the back edge. “She may be Kryptonian, but she’s not a complete idiot.”

She didn’t even have the energy to glare at the Daxamite; her heart pounding uncomfortably fast in her chest as she continued to shake her head. “I’m not signing this,” she said, looking up at Rhea. She turned to her parents. “I’m _not_ signing this!” she suddenly shouted as she rushed to stand, her chair flying backwards and to the floor before she raced out of the room.

“Kara!” Alura called out to her daughter, but she was already gone, headed for the front door of the Palace. She turned to the Daxamites. “One moment. I’ll bring her back. Zor-El?” she questioned, indicating that he should follow her out.

They found her pacing on the front steps of the property, hastily walking back and forth.

“Kara, darling,” Alura pleaded with her. “Come back inside. You need to sign the contract.”

“Do you hear yourself?” she questioned loudly. “You need me to sign a contract that forces me to marry that…that _Daxamite_!? Are you insane? We hate them! Why in Rao’s name would you be forcing me to _marry_ him? Of all things in this universe, Mother, why would I have to _marry_ him?”

“Kara,” her father started softly. “This is a contract that’s going to provide our people with a better way of life. Please come inside and read the terms. Once you do, you’ll understand,” he insisted.

“How is me getting married going to help our people? That doesn’t even make sense!” she shouted at him.

“Kara,” Alura placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, stopping her frantic pacing, but Kara wouldn’t connect their gaze. “This marriage is going to unite our people. The terms include that the Daxamites allow our people to move to Daxam and cohabitate again. You know about our situation on Krypton. The moon is dying. We need to leave and this is where we can come. This is where we can start over. Where we can be safe. Please just come back inside and read the terms. You’ll see that this is what’s best for our people.”

Kara’s eyes were teary when she finally looked up at her mother. “What about what’s best for me?”

“I know this is a lot to place on your shoulders, Kara, but we all must make sacrifices for our people,” she continued. “This is yours.”

“Yeah? Well what are you two sacrificing? I don’t see you two sacrificing _anything_ ,” she huffed angrily at them.

“My sweet girl, we’ll be losing you,” Alura’s voice cracked with the statement.

“Mama, why are you doing this to me?” Kara asked through tears, her foot stomping petulantly on the ground beneath her.

“Please, Kara. This is hard on us, too. Please don’t make it harder.” She pulled her daughter in for a hug, her arms wrapping tightly around the girl who refused to do the same.

Kara felt her father’s hand stroking through her hair. “Let’s go inside and read the contract. The agreement is already binding. You are only required to read the terms and sign to show that you understand them. Unfortunately, the decision has already been made.”

“Father, I’m not a child,” she angrily stated as she pulled away from the both of them. “I’m supposed to be making my own decisions. How _dare_ you both go off and decide the rest of my life for me.” She angrily wiped at her eyes. “I want to go home,” she stated firmly.

Alura steeled her face. “Kara Zor-El, you’re going to go back into that home, apologize to that family for making a scene, and you are going to sign that contract as required.”

“You two are disgusting. I can’t believe you’re forcing me to do this.” She shook her head as she turned back to enter the Palace again. “I’m going to sign that ridiculous agreement and then find a way to break it. But what I’m _not_ going to do, is apologize to those….those heathens…uncivilized…repulsive…” she continued to mutter as she moved back into the Palace and returned to the room she had run from.

Zor-El turned to Alura, his thumbs wiping at the tears threatening to start falling from her eyes. “She’ll understand,” he nodded at her. “It’ll take some time, but she’ll understand.”

* * *

Kara returned to the conference room and sat down in her chair without a word or a glance at the Daxamites.

“I apologize on behalf of my daughter for her outburst,” Zor-El stated quietly. “I believe we’re ready to review the terms.”

“So the Princess is ready to be a grown up and follow through with her responsibilities?” Mon-El cracked. Kara glared angrily at him and was ready to throw the pen on the table right at his face.

“Princess, please read the terms and sign where indicated on the final page.” Rhea slid the secondary copy toward her. “Both copies, please.”

Kara sniffled slightly before she looked down at the first line at the top of the page of the contract in front of her.

_Section 1: Introduction_

_I._ _This agreement is entered into by Prince Mon-El Gand of Daxam (herein “Prince Mon-El”) and Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton (herein “Princess Kara”):_

_II. Also same is entered into in a congenial nature by both King Lar Gand and Queen Rhea of Daxam (herein “Royal Family of Daxam”) and King Zor-El and Queen Alura of Krypton (herein “Royal Family of Krypton”) and their people respectively._

_III. This contract becomes binding with the signatures of the betrothed’s parental units, that being four (4) signatures._

_IV. The above parties enter into this agreement having fully read and understood the terms and conditions of the pending nuptials set to occur six (6) months from the signing date of this agreement. All parties involved understand that only those situations listed in Section 4 (I) of this agreement will nullify same._

_Section 2: Pre-Marriage Terms_

_I. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara will wed in a ceremony organized and led by the Royal Family of Daxam and the Royal Family of Krypton jointly. From the date of signing the contract to the date of said Wedding, the following conditions must be met:_

_a._ _Prince Mon-El will present Princess Kara with a silver band representing the upcoming union to be worn on the third finger of her left hand. Prince Mon-El will wear an identical band on the third finger of his left hand;_

_b. Princess Kara will immediately upon completion of signing leave planet Krypton and live with the Royal Family of Daxam under the same roof as Prince Mon-El;_

_c. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara must refer to each other only as fiancée and fiancé in public respectively; and_

_d. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara will attend all gatherings, parties and celebrations held at the residence of the Royal Family of Daxam and otherwise exclusively as a couple._

_II. During the pre-marriage phase, the Royal Family of Krypton will begin to move their people to Daxam. With the assistance of the Royal Family of Daxam, proper housing will be provided to the Kryptonians and reasonable allocation of resources for living will be provided to same._

_III. Princess Kara will be introduced into Daxamite society with a celebration held at the residence of the Royal Family of Daxam where the news of the marriage will be formally announced. The Date, Time and any change in Location for said celebration will be determined by the Royal Family of Daxam._

_Section 3: Union of Marriage_

_I. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara will wed on Daxam in front of guests chosen by the respective Royal Families._

_II. During the marriage ceremony, the silver bands on the engaged parties’ left hands will be exchanged for courtship rings; similar gold bands representing the completed union._

_III. Upon completion of the marriage ceremony, Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara will live together on Daxam in a single home, that being the residence of the Royal Family of Daxam._

_IV. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara must consummate the marriage._

_V. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara must naturally produce at least one (1) Daxatonian heir to represent the coming together of both the Daxamite and Kryptonian races in a truce. No scientific reproduction is permissible in order to ensure that said heir remains truly half Daxamite and half Kryptonian._

_Section 4: Nullification of Contract_

_I. This contract agreed upon by those noted in Section 1 (I) and (II) will only be nullified in the following situations:_

_a. The death of either Prince Mon-El and/or Princess Kara (by non-suspicious means);_

_b. Significant physical, mental or emotional abuse between married parties;_

_c. Proven adultery or infidelity committed by Princess Kara solely; and/or_

_d. Failure to conceive a Daxatonian heir within six (6) months of the wedding date._

_II._ _Upon nullification, a new Kryptonian female will be chosen as a replacement for Prince Mon-El._

_Section 5: Promises of the Married Parties_

_I. Prince Mon-El and Princess Kara, by entering into the agreed upon marriage, have also agreed to:_

_a._ _Protect each other from harm in terms of physical safety and financial stability;_

_b. Respect both Royal Families and their wishes regarding the marriage;_

_c. Share each other’s assets and liabilities, whether permanent or temporary; and_

_d. Not restrict each other’s desires to live a fulfilling and enriched life the way they see fit, whether that be according to Daxamite or Kryptonian customs._

_Section 6: Responsibilities of the Royal Families_

_I. The Daxamites will continue to provide an enriching and joyful life to their people and must welcome the Kryptonians back to Daxam (formerly Minerva)._

_II. The Kryptonian people must work on rebuilding Daxam up to standards equivalent to or greater than previously held on Minerva._

_III. The Royal Family of Daxam and the Royal Family of Krypton must continue to cohabitate and live peacefully on Daxam and encourage their people to behave in the same manner._

_a._ _Should a member of either the Daxamite or Kryptonian race not continue to cohabitate peacefully with all members of Daxam, the responsible Royal Family will ensure that said person is dealt with according to the laws they follow as a people._

_Section 7: Conclusion_

_I. This agreement cannot be modified._

_II. This agreement will take effect immediately upon the completed signing of the six (6) parties involved in same._

_Section 8: Signatures_

_I. The following parties involved in this agreement as listed below will sign where indicated:_

_a. King Lar Gand of Daxam;_

_b. Queen Rhea of Daxam;_

_c. King Zor-El of Krypton;_

_d. Queen Alura of Krypton;_

_e. Prince Mon-El Gand of Daxam; and_

_f. Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton._

Kara thought she was going to pass out.

Her throat had run dry, her knees were weak and her whole body was trembling, though with anger or fear she wasn’t sure. She’d read the whole agreement, but certain words kept repeating through her brain, making her stomach clench and her head spin.

_Leave Krypton._

_Live with the Royal Family of Daxam._

_Consummate the marriage._

_Daxatonian heir._

_This agreement cannot be modified._

“I don’t think I can sign this,” Kara said quietly through the tears grabbing at her throat.

“The decision’s already been made for us, Princess,” Mon-El sighed loudly. “I’m contractually yours…you’re contractually mine. If you sign, you’re stuck here. If you don’t sign, they’re obviously not letting you leave either.”

Kara’s teary eyes lifted and met Mon-El’s.

“We’re screwed,” he said simply as he looked at her.

“Are any of the terms unclear, Kara?” Zor-El asked gently.

Kara shook her head. “No, I just don’t want to do them.”

“You don’t actually have a say, Princess,” Rhea shrugged. “The marriage is an important symbol, but the heir is crucial in order to truly bring our people together.”

Kara stared at the words on the paper. _Consummate the marriage_. _Daxatonian heir_.

“I thought there was a way to produce a child without…” she trailed off.

“Sex?” Mon-El chuckled from across the table as he shook his head. “You Kryptonians are such prudes.”

“I’m glad you find this so _funny_ ,” she suddenly spat. “Do you really care so little about your own life? You’ve had these papers merely a few hours and you’ve given in and signed already…without even knowing who I am or what I look like or _anything_ about me?”

“I will say,” he started as he leaned back in his chair again. “You’re not what I expected… _at all_.”

Kara cocked an eyebrow at him. “And what’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

Rhea interrupted them both, “Physical copulation is required to conceive this heir because our technology cannot yet successfully combine Daxamite and Kryptonian DNA. This is the only way to ensure both sets of DNA are combined 50/50.”

“This is ridiculous,” Kara shook her head. “Six months? Isn’t that a little fast? How are we going to plan a whole wedding?”

“The wedding will be planned by us, sweetheart,” Alura stated. “You won’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh, what a relief!” Kara shouted sarcastically. “My own forced wedding and I’m not even required to plan it.” She looked back at the contract. “And I have to have a baby within six months of the wedding? That _definitely_ seems too fast.”

“Only to conceive. You may physically have the baby after the six month period is up,” Rhea provided.

“Oh, wow. Well, thank you for your considerate offering.”

“You can start trying now, should you wish,” Rhea continued.

Kara laughed loudly, exaggeratedly, at the woman’s suggestion before covering her mouth with her hand to suppress the noise. “No, thank you,” she stated firmly.

Rhea grinned that nearly creepy grin again. “Princess, my son is a Daxamite. He won’t need six months. He’ll be all over you in six minutes.”

Kara shivered in response and tried to push back the tears that threatened to spring to her eyes once again. She turned to her mother. “This… _this_ is the family you want me to be a part of?”

“Kara…” Alura tried, but she’d run out of words to support their decision.

“Kara,” Lar Gand started. “You’re required to sign to contract and the terms are non-negotiable. Please do so and we can move forward with the preparations.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said as she picked up the pen from the table top. “I’ll never be able to forgive you for doing this to me.”

“Kara, please,” Alura’s voice cracked.

She signed her name on the indicated line on both copies before sliding them forcefully along the table over at Rhea. “Satisfied?” she asked and Rhea nodded with a grin.

“Very much so.”

“Well, I guess you two should be leaving then,” she said to her parents before standing. “Since you’ve decided to abandon me here and all.”

Alura stood with her. “Kara--”

“I assume you’ll be packing and sending my things.”

“I--”

“I’m sure you’ll have to go over the ‘house rules’ or whatever, but can someone show me to my new room. I’d like to be by myself for a while.”

“Kara, we’re--”

Kara held up a finger toward her mother. “I swear to Rao if you say you’re sorry right now…I just…I don’t want to hear it.” Her voice started to grow in volume as she was suddenly filled with anger and was ready to lash out. “You decided to throw your daughter to the Daxamites. You’re forcing me to live with our _enemy_. A family that I’ve never met before today. Marry a man who I have _no_ interest in.”

“Ouch,” she heard Mon-El say quietly behind her as he dramatically held a hand to his chest, but she ignored him.

“You’re making me live with these people for the rest of my life all because you weren’t smart enough or creative enough or clever enough or _whatever_ enough to think of _any_ other way to help our people.” She shook her head as she felt the tears rushing back. “I’m ready for you to leave.” She turned back to the Daxamites. “Where the hell is my room!?”

“I’ll take her,” Mon-El stated as he stood from him chair. He moved toward her. “Right this way, Princess.”

“ _Stop_ calling me that,” she muttered angrily.

“Isn’t that what you are?” he asked as he held his arm out, gesturing for her to walk through the doorway. “A Princess?”

She rolled her eyes as she moved to leave the room.

“We’ll send Alex with your things tomorrow, Kara,” Zor-El said shortly before she walked out. She paused for a moment as she tried to keep her lower lip from trembling.

“Goodbye,” she said quietly as she left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a review or come chat on Twitter!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	5. Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘I hope you realize that I’m not having sex with you either,’ she said firmly, her eyes boring into his. ‘Not under any circumstance.’ He grinned. ‘But it’s in the contract.’ She glared back at him with disgust. ‘Calm down, Kara,’ he emphasized her lack of title, as she’d requested. ‘You don’t have to worry. I don’t want to touch you anyway.’” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> It makes me so happy to see that you guys are enjoying this fic. I write so much that I don't read much karamel fic (where can I find the time!?), but I feel like this trope has been done a few times before already, so I'm glad you guys are interested enough in it to give me a shot at it.
> 
> Enjoy!

_Day One (Continued)_

Mon-El led Kara to the second floor of the Palace without a word. She trailed behind him as she tried to memorize the way they’d gone. She’d surely get lost in this place easily within five minutes of being left alone. They walked down a long hallway that only led to one room. Well, at least she’d have some privacy away from this family she’d now be stuck living with… _for the rest of her life_.

Mon-El opened the door to the room and held his hand outward, signalling that she should step inside. She walked through the doorway and looked around the room. It was nice; neat and tidy with a large bed pushed up against the middle of one wall. The room had a little too much red for her tastes; the walls darkened with the colour, the fabrics around the room complementing it well though. Hopefully she’d be able to cover up that colour with something brighter; maybe blue, or a lilac shade. Something more her style. Something softer. That was the least that these people could do; allow her to decorate her own room if they were forcing her to live here and all.

“This will do, I guess,” she said to Mon-El as she turned to look at him. His eyes were clearly running up and down her form, examining her appearance. She wasn’t sure if he really was suspicious about having her in his home, or if he was checking her out. She wasn’t sure which option she preferred less.

“Oh, this isn’t _your_ room,” he stated as he shook his head. “This is _my_ room.”

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, “Well, I asked to be taken to _my_ room,” she nearly growled.

“Relax, Princess,” he laughed.

“Stop with the Princess thing!” she shouted at him.

“I don’t think I can,” he stated with a shrug as he continued to laugh. “I think I’m going to enjoy pushing your buttons too much, and you’re making it a pretty easy thing to do.”

“Where’s my room?” she asked as she let out a tired sigh. He was driving her nuts and she needed to get away from these people. She needed time alone to breathe before she broke down in front of everyone over this horrid situation. That was the _last_ thing she wanted to do right now.

“Your room is right through that door,” he nodded at a doorway in the corner of the room.

Her head turned as her forehead crinkled again. “I assumed that was a closet…”

“It was,” he confirmed with a nod as he moved toward it. “It used to be…before I signed that contract that is. Well, I’m pretty sure that when I went down for breakfast and before I’d even put pen to paper, the servants were already cleaning it out and dragging in the mattress for you.”

Kara followed him to her “new room” and she peeked inside. A single mattress lay on the floor of the similarly painted room. There was a white vanity with a mirror pushed up against the wall diagonally from where the mattress sat. A clothing rack was standing a few feet away from it with several formal dresses already hanging there. A full-length mirror was attached to the side wall as well, opposite to the mattress. It was such a small room with only the bare necessities in it. This was how she was expected to live for the rest of her life? There wasn’t even a window in here!

“Mother said that we’d put some finishing touches on the room. Get the mattress off the floor and try to put a window in that far wall since it’s an outer wall of the Palace. I guess because we only had a few hours before you got here, the servants had to run out and get some stuff to put it together fast. You can ask them to decorate it for you if you want.”

“I will _not_ be using your _slaves_ , thank you. It’s disgusting what you use those young women and men for. Taking them away from their families for your own benefits.”

“Hey,” he shook his hands in her direction. “They’re my parents’ idea.”

“What do you mean they’re their idea? You live here, too.”

“The Royal Family has always had servants. I don’t approve of it, but you’ve met my parents. They only ever do what they want. Nobody really cares what I think. Nobody ever asks for my opinions. They’d much rather control my entire life than be open to change.”

“So wait,” Kara started, the realization suddenly hitting her. “You mean…I have to go through _your_ room in order to get to mine?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he rolled his eyes at her. “For now at least.”

“ _For now_? What does that mean?”

“Well, the whole point of marriage is that we’d be sharing a life together, right? That goes along with sharing a bed. This bedroom is only temporary. Just until the wedding. My parents have already planned for that room to be the night nursery once the baby is born.”

He saw her body stiffen. Her head was spinning, her stomach rolling. She was gonna puke. Or pass out. Or maybe both.

“I can’t believe this is happening. This is a mistake,” she turned to look at him directly. “Why did we agree to this? Why did we sign those papers?” Her voice was starting to tremble.

He shook his head. “I’m only agreeing to this so that my parents will leave me alone. They want to control everything in this house; everything on this planet. But look around this city. They suck at it. This little contract of theirs will never work. Our people hate each other. How do they expect to put everyone on the same planet again without any issues? This is going to be a mess.”

“ _That’s_ the part of this arrangement that you’re having difficulty with?” Kara asked, exasperatedly.

“Well, I’m against the whole thing, but that’s the part that stands out to me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Again… _that’s_ what you take the most offence at? Not the fact that, not only is this an arranged marriage, but we’re being _forced_ …into marrying each other…” she paused for emphasis, “for the _rest of our lives_.” When he didn’t say anything further, “I hope you realize that I’m _not_ having sex with you either,” she said firmly, her eyes boring into his. “Not under _any_ circumstance.”

He grinned. “But it’s in the contract.” She glared back at him with disgust. “Calm down, _Kara_ ,” he emphasized her lack of title, as she’d requested. “You don’t have to worry. I don’t want to touch you anyway.”

“Then why do you keep _staring_ at me? Watching me?”

“I can’t look at you now?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Not like…like the way that you are,” she stumbled around the words. “It’s weird. You’re making me uncomfortable,” she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well, Kara, I’m your husband-to-be, so you better get used to it. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to look at each other every day for the foreseeable future.”

Kara rolled her eyes at him again as she kicked off her shoes. “Whatever. Can you leave now, please?” she asked. “I’d rather just be alone right now.”

“Come on,” he started instead. “I’ll show you the rest of the Palace. Well...the important rooms at least.”

“Can’t we do that later?”

He blinked back at her. “You’re assuming that I don’t have plans for later this evening…”

She huffed before plopping down on the mattress. “This is not how I wanted to spend my birthday,” she muttered quietly as she landed on her behind on the mattress.

“It’s your birthday today?” he asked, almost suspiciously and she nodded almost regretfully. “We should celebrate,” he proposed.

She looked up at him. “Can you explain to me what it is about this situation that we should be celebrating?”

“You’re on Daxam now, Kara. We celebrate _everything_.” They stared at each other for a moment; Kara’s eyes squinting in consideration, his eyes brightening over the possibility of a party. She’d never had a celebration for her birthday before. Maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible idea? She didn’t have to like the guy to celebrate herself alongside him, did she?

Suddenly he reached down and grabbed a hold of her wrists, tugging her upwards and into a standing position. “First, the tour, then paaarttyyy!” he said, his hands pulling her arms, swinging them back and forth as she cracked a small smile. “Onward, Princess,” he stated as he pulled her toward the door of her room.

_Princess._ That’s when she reconsidered. She wasn’t happy about this situation. She didn’t really want a celebration. She didn’t want to hang out with a stuck up Daxamite Prince who likely thought that the whole world revolved around him. She wanted to go home. To her _real_ home.

But she let him drag her back out to his room and into the hallway outside anyway, sighing loudly as he described where everything was.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but there was an en suite bathroom attached to my…our bedroom?” The information came out on a question, but he kept guiding the tour. “There’s another, bigger one here,” he pointed to their left in the opposite hallway to that of their bedrooms. “The shower is great; multiple shower heads, various pulse levels on the water stream so every shower feels like a massage, good lighting. But we have to fix the door,” he knocked on the wooden door that sat open. “It doesn’t lock.” He nudged her in front of him to carry on through the home.

They walked throughout the second floor, Kara’s socked feet padding softly along the carpet, hands sliding along the decorated walls as she tried to take everything in. This home was _huge_ and there were so many rooms. A library. An office. Another couple of bathrooms (there were more bathrooms than people in this place!). Another office. A room he’d hesitantly described as the future upstairs day nursery.

“That’s the hallway to my parents’ bedroom. I’d suggest _not_ going in there… _ever_. The less you have to interact with them, the better. Also, they probably wouldn’t appreciate a stranger wandering through there.” She turned to look at him. “I know…we’re engaged and all, but you’re still a Kryptonian. You’re about as strange as it gets on this planet.” He lifted his hand gesturing back down the extravagant staircase. “On to the final leg of the tour.”

He watched as she moved in front of him, beginning to descend the stairs. He had to admit it. She _definitely_ wasn’t what he had been expecting. The soft golden hair, curls bouncing as they trailed halfway down her back. Her back that seemed hesitantly straight; a proud posture, but it seemed like a nervous energy emerged each time she remembered being thrown into this situation with him. Her slim waist accentuated the curves of her hips that trailed into well-defined thighs and long legs. She stopped suddenly, and his gaze danced back up her form, just in time to see her head turn to look him in the eye. And don’t think he hadn’t noticed those bright blue eyes; as sad and upset with him as they were so far since they’d met, they were _stunning_.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, almost embarrassedly at being caught eyeing her form so boldly. “It’s your birthday,” he prodded, brushing off the fact that she’d caught him. “You’re turning…?”

“Twenty-five,” she answered over her shoulder as she continued to move down the last of the stairs. He nodded at her and her gaze shifted forward again.

She was twenty-five. Obviously gorgeous and yet, single? Even if she wasn’t…she was single _enough_ that her parents could send her off to be married on another planet with, to be honest, _very_ little argument.

This girl though…she gave him a weird feeling; a strange type of desire he wasn’t accustomed to. It was something different than what he’d felt before with women on his planet. It wasn’t that carnal hunger, a throbbing want, a nearly forceful urge making him go after what he desired; to entice someone into his bed for a night they would always remember, but he could easily forget; where he could simply get off, no strings attached.

No, this was a dull ache; more of a _need_. He wanted to reach out and touch her; slide his hand along that waist of hers, down the curves of her ass and take her into his arms. He wanted to grip her likely silky hair in his fingers. He wanted to kiss that little pout off her lips. He wanted to watch her blush with that nervous energy. He wanted to find out if she would be pliant to his touch or feisty and knock him onto his back beneath her.

Normally he wouldn’t care. He’d reach out and go after her so that he could figure out how to make that strange needy feeling inside of himself simmer down. But standing near her, he could already tell that wouldn’t go over well. He had girls nearly clawing at each other to get to him. But not this girl. She was smart. She was worldly. Mature. His casual confidence would likely turn her off faster than anything else. He would have to work a little harder for this one; contract or not, she obviously wasn’t going to just leap into his arms naked.

Suddenly he collided with her, his chest bouncing off of her opened hands as she held her arms out in his direction.

“Are you even listening to me?”

He shook his head as he tried to get his bearings back. “Huh?” he asked and he thought he actually felt himself starting to blush with embarrassment. He was the Prince for gods’ sake; he was never _embarrassed_. And what was he thinking? He wasn’t interested in this girl. No matter how hot she was, she was a Kryptonian. Ugh.

“I asked you how many rooms this place had and you didn’t say anything. You’re not even paying attention…you _literally_ just walked into me.”

“Sorry…my mind was somewhere else,” he grinned. “Just thinking about where we’re going to celebrate your birthday tonight.”

“Mon-El,” she sighed. Even his name sounded wonderful coming from her lips. “I don’t think I feel up for celebrating.”

“I’ll show you how to get home and you can leave any time you like. No obligations.”

She was silent for a moment before, “Okay,” she agreed as she turned and continued down a new hallway. She might as well try to find something fun to do while she’s stuck here. “So how many rooms?” she asked again.

“Fifty-seven,” he grinned. He knew how ridiculous it was.

“Fifty-seven?!” she asked, her eyes wide as she stopped and turned around to face him again. “You’re telling me you _actually_ use fifty-seven rooms for a _three_ person family?”

“Fifty-eight,” he corrected, holding up a finger at her. “I wasn’t counting the closet that’s now your bedroom.”

“That’s insane.”

“Well, how many rooms were in the Kryptonian palace?”

“Fifteen,” she said modestly.

“ _Fifteen_?” he asked, shocked. “Only fifteen rooms?”

She nodded. “And we don’t even really use them all. We live,” she paused for a moment before correcting herself. “ _They_ live on a small moon over there. Only so much available space…”

“Well, _we_ don’t really use them all either. The live-in servants have a number of rooms for themselves. They’re down that hallway,” he said as he pointed off in the opposite direction. “Down here we have the dreaded conference room, which you’re already familiar with, where we sign contracts such as marriage contracts, building contracts, and the like. Then we have the entertainment room, the sitting room, the dining room, the _formal_ dining room for entertaining only, the kitchen for the help, our own private kitchen if you, for whatever strange reason, want to do things yourself, but we rarely use it. Uhm…we have a planting room where the help tends crops, at least what little we’re able to keep alive,” he laughed. “We’re not very good at tending to gardens on this planet. Probably why my parents wanted your peoples’ help.” He carried on, “We have a smaller reading room down here, oh and the party room for smaller events. The one down the opposite hall is for larger events. We’ll probably use that one for your Introduction.”

“My Introduction…” She remembered reading of something similar in the contract. “What does that mean exactly?” she asked with a single eyebrow raised high on her forehead.

“Oh, well, the basic part of it is that you spend the day getting all gorgeous and stunning and dressing up, though looking at you now, I don’t see how that would take all day,” he winked as he grinned at her and she felt a strange jump in her stomach; a nervous flutter that she tried to suppress. “And we show you off to the important people in town. We’re probably going to announce the engagement there first. Unless my parents choose to make the announcement from the Palace balcony to a gathering instead.”

“So kind of a party then?”

“A _boring_ party, yes. Now… _fun_ partying…I’ll show you how we do that here. Run back upstairs and put on one of those dresses hanging on that rack, and I’ll take you to the best club on this side of Daxam.”

“Club?” She eyed him curiously. “What’s a club?” she repeated the foreign word.

“Oh, Kara, Kara, Kara,” he clicked his tongue at her as he wrapped an arm around her waist subtly. “I have _so_ much to teach you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave some love if you can. I ALWAYS appreciate it! :)
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_
> 
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	6. Partying With a Daxamite Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘Ahh, Kara,’ he bowed slightly from across the counter as he prepared Mon-El’s drink. ‘Pleasure to meet you.’ He looked at Mon-El. ‘Family? Friend?’ ‘Enemy,’ Mon-El grinned before laughing. Cil laughed too, clearly assuming it was a joke and Kara chuckled along awkwardly. If only he knew how much of an enemy they were but a few hours ago. Not that they were friends or anything now. Worse…they were engaged.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!
> 
> Like probably quite a number of you, I'm still REEEEEELING from the latest melwood announcement, so I hope I didn't miss any typos, etc. in my read through of this chapter before posting. I really enjoy this chapter. I hope you guys love it, too!
> 
> Thanks for continuing to come back to read my work. You all help put such a smile on my face and such love in my heart!
> 
> (Note: I realize that Day One probably seems a thousand years long at this point, but I swear, we'll move on to a new day soon!)

_Day One (Continued)_

Her eyes floated along the five dresses hanging on the rack in her tiny closet-bedroom. Tiny for a bedroom, but huge for a closet. She wondered where the dresses had come from. Had they cleared out Mon-El’s clothing and just left whatever was meant for a woman? She’d heard the rumours of the Daxamite Prince; about his promiscuity. Were these the dresses of his past conquests? Had they somehow left their clothes during their escape from the Palace the next morning? She cringed. With the possibility of that, she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to try any of them on.

They looked to all be the same size; her size. Maybe his parents and her parents discussed something like this; providing her clothes while she was here. They were much too sparkly and “out there” to be her normal expected attire for daily life in the Palace on Krypton. And they definitely didn’t have her family’s crest sewn into them like she would have preferred.

Mon-El dressed modestly; more so than his parents, however, who had seemed to be in formal Daxamite attire during the contract signing. She looked down at the outfit she was wearing. Snug black dress pants, her shirt tucked in at the waist. A modest blouse made of the finest of Kryptonian materials (not that they had many of those left on their planet). She looked presentable for a Royal Business Transaction. But was this not acceptable for going to a club?

“Are you ready yet?” Mon-El’s voice came through the closed door to her room.

“I can’t decide what to wear…” she shouted back.

“Are you naked?” he asked.

“No,” she stated, her eyebrows furrowed together.

“Too bad,” he sighed, the door suddenly swinging open as he walked in and right up to the clothing rack she was standing in front of. She took in his own outfit; all black, his pants of a denim looking material that she envied. They rarely, if ever, saw that material on Krypton anymore. His shirt had a deeper v-neckline that showed just a hint of his obviously muscular chest. Definitely not Daxamite formal wear. He pulled a hanger off the rack, a sparkling gold dress; far tighter and flashier than she would normally ever consider.

“Put this on, leave your hair down and put on those heeled shoes,” he nodded at her feet. A pair of strappy golden, thin high heeled shoes sat neatly on the shelf lining the bottom of the rack.

“Gold?” she questioned, her nose crinkling as she accepted the hanger from him. “Where are the sleeves?”

“You’ll look great,” he insisted nonchalantly. “Put it on and meet me downstairs in ten minutes,” he stated before leaving the room, shutting the door behind himself.

She sighed as she looked at the dress he’d put into her hands. She slipped the thin straps from the hanger and proceeded to change into the dress. She eyed the shoes a little longer before deciding against them. She never wore heels that thin on Krypton; only on very special occasions. She was already on an unknown world; she didn’t need to be tripping and falling all over herself in public. None of the other shoes had a thick enough heel for her liking, so she slid on a flat pair of shoes and looked herself over in the mirror. She didn’t really own anything here, so she moved into the en suite bathroom he’d told her about. Sure enough there looked to be a fresh set of toiletries sitting on the counter; feminine enough that she could safely assume that they were for her. She freshened up and hesitantly wandered around the upstairs looking for the staircase before finally managing to get down to the front door.

“It’s her birthday, Mother,” she heard Mon-El say, his voice tinged with frustration. She stopped in her tracks, standing still on the bottom step of the staircase as she listened in on their conversation.

“And?” Rhea returned. “I told you that you were not to leave the Palace grounds tonight.”

“And you know Kryptonians,” he shrugged. “The girl doesn’t even know what a party _is_. We’ll go dancing and drinking for a bit and we’ll be home in a few hours.”

“You’re missing the first family dinner with all four of us together,” Lar Gand jumped in.

“Father, we’re going to be wed. That’s a lifetime of boring family meals to attend. We can miss one for the girl’s first birthday with us.”

“Make sure she eats at some point. Don’t have her drinking too much either. We need her healthy and strong to conceive the heir.”

Kara shivered, her mind reeling at the thought of having to rush home to sleep with a man, whom she’d just met, with the intentions of creating a child.

“Ugh,” Mon-El huffed. “We’re not hurrying home to have sex tonight, Mother. Give me a break. Back off.”

She let out the breath she was holding. At least he seemed to be _somewhat_ on her side…

Mon-El walked toward the front door and saw Kara standing on the stairs. “There you are. Let’s go,” he urged, opening the door. She hurried through it and onto the stoop of the home without a single glance at his parents.

“You’re not wearing the shoes I told you to,” he said as soon as the door was shut behind them.

“I didn’t want to. I’m not very good at walking in them,” she justified. “I don’t have much practice--”

“Whatever,” he cut her off. “Your feet, not mine.”

He handed her a small communication device. “We’re taking a car. We have drivers. You can press 3-4-4 on that device to call one of them if you’re ready to leave the club before I am. They’ll pick you up and take you home.”

She eyed the device in her palm before slipping it into the small handbag that she’d also found in her bedroom upstairs.

“If you’d prefer to travel alone, we also have pods in the back of the Palace for faster, solo travel. I wouldn’t recommend going far in them though. The Daxamite pods are different than the Kryptonian ones. They might be confusing for you. Until you get used to them at least.”

A car stopped at the front gate at the end of the path, hovering a few feet in the air before slowly beginning to sink to the road beneath.

“Hurry up,” he urged. “My parents are having a fit that we’re going out so I should probably get you home in a few hours.”

She nodded as she moved to get into the car as it lowered completely to the ground. She kept in mind the shortness of her dress as she tried to gracefully get in and settled, but he was quick on her tail, nearly pushing her inside the back of the vehicle.

He nearly shouted the destination at the driver and the car took off before she could even strap herself in. He watched as she looked around the back seat.

“You don’t need a belt,” he stated.

“I’d prefer one,” she returned as she continued to look. “Your driver is going awfully fast.”

He rolled his eyes at her before reaching over her form, his hand moving around her lower back over to her thigh. She sat up straight in her seat, her eyes widening at the boldness of his hands. “I--” she started, about to tell him it was fine, she’d just hold on to the door or something, when he found the end of the belt, pulling it outwards and grabbing her hand, putting one in the other and allowing her to buckle it herself.

She clipped the belt and faced forward once again. He was annoyed by her shuffling for her belt, but _he_ was the one who was fidgeting. His knee was bouncing up and down as he watched the buildings fly by outside his window. His hands were tapping on his thighs and he looked bothered about something. Did he not want to actually go out and celebrate with her? Did his parents really get to him that much?

_Parents_. Kara missed her parents. She knew it had only been a few hours, but she missed them terribly. She didn’t know when they were returning. Hopefully soon if they were bringing her stuff for her. She knew they said they’d send Alex, but she hoped they would come with her. She was still angry with them, but she could use a hug and some friendly faces…even if they were the ones who abandoned her here.

She was lost in her thoughts for the majority of the ride, the car all of a sudden ending up parked in front of a building that didn’t really look all that inviting. Most of the buildings in Daxam looked that way. It was clear that their construction skills needed work. She could hear music coming from inside the building; a hard beat with no voices singing along to the music. _This_ was a club?

She felt her seatbelt flying off of her, Mon-El’s hand having clicked the button for its release without her noticing. His hand grabbed at hers, tugging it from her thigh and into his hold. “Let’s go,” he said simply and she nodded at him as she followed him out.

They stepped out of the car, Mon-El telling the driver that they’d call again when they were ready to return to the palace. The driver nodded with a, “Yes, my Prince,” before speeding away.

“So what do we do here? At a club?” Kara asked as he pushed her in front of himself, his hands resting on her waist as they moved toward the front door.

“We dance. We drink alcohol. We make friends.”

“Make friends?” she asked, her eyes suddenly worried. “Mon-El, I’m _Kryptonian_. The contract…this arrangement hasn’t even been announced yet. I don’t think it will go over well if I started telling people I’m Kryptonian.”

He shrugged. “Don’t tell people that.”

He helped her push open the heavy iron door to the club. “How do I make friends with people by keeping secrets from them?”

“People don’t have to know _everything_ about you, Kara,” he laughed. “Tell them your name, your age, that it’s your birthday today. You’re hot. I’m sure you’ll find someone to go home with.”

She could feel herself starting to blush at his words and she was sure that it had to be from his suggestion and not from his comment on her looks. His hands were warm on her waist and she almost wanted to shake them off; to see if her heart would stop pounding in her chest if he wasn’t touching her. Suddenly she stopped walking and turned to face him, his hands indeed dropping from her waist. “Wait…to go home with? I’m supposed to go home with _you_.”

“You’re supposed to go home to the Royal Palace…eventually. Not specifically _with_ me, nor at exactly the same time. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find someone to have fun with _before_ going home.”

“Are you implying that I should find somebody in this,” she looked around them, “dark and disgusting place to…” her voice fell to a whisper, “…to have sex with?”

He nodded with a laugh. “It’s not a forbidden word, Princess.” He smiled as she glared at him briefly. “We say sex here!” he shouted loudly and it made her stop glaring and cringe instead. “I’m sure half the people on the dance floor are engaging in it right now.”

Her eyes flew to the “dance floor”. He was right. Nobody was really dancing. Was _that_ what dancing was on Daxam? Where was the hold, the posture, the gliding, the spinning?

“I’m not going to do _that_ ,” she said strongly referring to the dancing. “Besides,” she started as she looked back at him. “It’s in the contract that I can’t be with other people. That nullifies it.”

He grinned devilishly at her. “I thought that you _wanted_ to nullify it,” he pushed.

She paused. She _did_ want to nullify the contract. With all her heart she did, but this went against her morals; the way she had been raised. She didn’t sleep with random men she’d just met. She didn’t sleep with anyone. Not ever. Which just made her more shocked at his flippant suggestion for her.

When she didn’t say anything further, “Well, me on the other hand, I have no problems making friends. And if you noticed, me sleeping with other people doesn’t nullify the contract, so…” he shrugged.

“Funny how that worked out for you…”

He shrugged as his hands went back to her waist, his body mere inches away as they continued to try to chat over the loud, head-pounding “music”. She could feel the press of each of his fingertips into her body and she still wasn’t sure if she liked it or wanted to push him away. His gestures combined with his attitudes and words, they just made her so conflicted.

“My parents know I’m a Daxamite. They know I basically need sex to _survive_. They knew I’d invalidate the contract in the first five minutes after signing it.”

She eyed him. “Wait…was this why you wanted to come here? To find someone else to…to mate with?”

“Mate is such a strong word, Kara,” he sighed. “I just want to have some fun for a few hours before sending them on their way.”

He turned her around and guided her past the grinding bodies of the dance floor and over toward the bar counter. “I thought we were coming here to celebrate my birthday? You lied to me.”

“Not a lie!” He insisted. “We can have a drink in celebration and then I’ll see you back at the Palace tomorrow morning,” he said as he leaned on the bar top and she copied his gesture.

“Tomorrow morning? You’ll be here _all night_?” She asked, voice taking on a hint of nervousness.

“Well, not necessarily, but with my plans, I’ll be too busy tonight to accompany you home or to entertain you there, so…” he trailed off as his eyes connected with hers. “What do you drink?”

Kara looked at the bottles lining the wall behind the bar. “Alcohol?”

“Well, yeah, that’s the speciality at the club,” he laughed.

“I don’t really drink alcohol. Barely even at formal events.”

“Oh…well here, it’s _all_ we drink,” he laughed again. “But I mean, if you don’t want to have any fun…they have things like water and some Earth drinks, if you’re looking to get fancy,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Earth drinks?” she asked with curiosity. “I’ve only visited Earth a couple of times with my parents when I was really young.”

“Yeah, our family has gone back and forth, too. Here we have sodas we’ve learned to replicate, and combinations of fruity juices that we sometimes combine with our alcohols. Over the years, many of the upper classes have travelled to Earth and brought back ideas; drinks, clothing, hobbies. For drinks, we usually just combine a bunch of stuff until it tastes similar, but most times we just combine stuff until it tastes somewhat good…or knocks you out,” he shrugged. “It’s more about getting wasted than it tasting good, you know?”

“Wasted?” she asked him with furrowed eyebrows. He stared back at her.

“Wasted,” he repeated, waiting for a reaction. “Smashed? Inebriated? Drunk?”

“Oh,” she nodded in understanding.

“Wow…Kara, you need to get out more…”

“I…get out…just a fine amount, thank you,” she laced her hands together on the bar top as she eyed the man who seemed to be working behind the counter. He laughed at her comment and she rolled her eyes back at him. “What do _you_ drink in places such as these anyway?”

“Well, I never turn away a Zakarian ale. But if you really want to go hard, Aldebaran rum does the trick.” He turned toward her. “Actually, I wouldn’t suggest trying that one out just yet. Being an amateur and all.” He finally raised his hand toward the man behind the counter who hurried right over.

“My Prince,” he greeted excitedly and Kara furrowed her eyebrows at Mon-El. He really seemed to like that people knew of his Royal Status. “What’ll it be tonight?”

“Surprise me, Cil,” he grinned. He hooked a thumb outward and gestured to Kara. “This is Kara.”

“Ahh, Kara,” he bowed slightly from across the counter as he prepared Mon-El’s drink. “Pleasure to meet you.” He looked at Mon-El. “Family? Friend?”

“Enemy,” Mon-El grinned before laughing. Cil laughed too, clearly assuming it was a joke and Kara chuckled along awkwardly. If only he knew how much of an enemy they were but a few hours ago. Not that they were friends or anything now. Worse…they were engaged. She sighed loudly and both boys looked over at her.

“Not having a good night?” Cil asked Kara.

“Not much of a drinker,” Mon-El winked at him, reaching out to take the drink from the man. “Mind taking care of her for a bit?” He shook his head back toward the dance floor in reference to what he’d rather be doing.

“Got it,” he nodded at the Prince who easily slipped away from them.

“Miss Kara,” he got her attention. “What can I get you to drink?"

“Oh, just Kara, please, and--” she paused. “I don’t actually have any money on me. It’s fine, I’ll just sit and wait here until he’s done,” she shrugged.

“It’s okay. He has a bill running with us. His parents forward the money at the end of each month. I’m sure nobody would notice an extra drink for you.” He pulled another glass out from under the counter. He poured a clear liquid into the glass and slid it toward her. “Besides, if you’re waiting for him to ‘be done’, you’re going to be waiting a long while…”

“Does he do this a lot?” She eyed the full glass curiously, bubbles rising to the surface and popping.

“It’s an Earth drink,” he smiled excitedly. “It’s really just water with added carbonation. The humans call it ‘club soda’,” he laughed lightly. “Club. Get it?”

She cracked a small smile at the man. “Clever. But I don’t really drink. It’s okay,” she moved to slide the glass back toward him.

“Don’t worry. It’s really just water. There’s no alcohol in it.”

She nodded and pulled it back toward herself and took a small sip. “Not bad…” she concluded. “Does he do this a lot?” she asked again as she nodded back toward Mon-El who was now in the middle of a circle of women.

“He’s the Prince of Daxam, Kara. He does whatever and whoever he wants, whenever he wants.” He winked at her, but it only made her stomach roll. It was way too uncomfortable to know that kind of thing about him. And she was expected to marry this guy? What would marriage even mean to him? Likely absolutely nothing at all.

Cil noticed some other people waving at him and he turned to Kara. “Back to work,” he smiled softly at her. “Let me know if you change your mind and want to order anything else.”

She nodded at him as he walked away. She turned slightly to glance back in the direction that Mon-El had headed and she saw him doing the same kind of “dancing” the rest of the group was. She shivered; all of their bodies were pressed up against each other. The girls were barely dressed, but Mon-El obviously didn’t mind. Nobody would be caught dead wearing those kinds of outfits on Krypton. They were even more scandalous than what she was currently wearing herself.

She watched his hands sliding along the body of a blonde pressed tightly to his front. His hand tangled in her hair as he tugged her head backward. Not roughly, not dangerously, so _sexually_. How did he manage to make that gesture look so… _dirty_? She watched as the blonde’s lips attached to his and she felt a weird flutter in her stomach. One that made her turn around, wide-eyed and embarrassed. She didn’t need to witness that. Surely they could have thought of a better place for such an act.

She remained seated at a chair at the bar counter, her eyes avoiding anyone who walked up to order, smiling regretfully at anyone who tried to talk to her. She didn’t like the way some of these guys were staring at her. It made her uncomfortable and after sitting around for an hour continuing to nurse the same soda drink Cil had given her, she decided she was ready to leave.

She turned around to search for Mon-El to let him know she’d be leaving, but she didn’t see him on the dance floor. As a matter of fact, she didn’t see him anywhere in the club. She furrowed her eyebrows as she fumbled through her bag for the communication device he had given her earlier. She waved a goodbye to Cil before moving toward the door, tugging the edge of her dress down to cover more of her thighs as she struggled to move through the bodies in the crowded club.

She nearly leapt outside, craving fresh air and the quietness the night outdoors could give her. She moved toward the street, pushing 3-4-4 on her device and she jumped when a hologram appeared instantly in front of her.

“Good evening, Princess Kara. Where shall we meet you?” the man questioned.

“Uhm,” she looked around herself. “I don’t really know where this is? I can’t find Mon-El. He took me to this place…a club?”

“Ah, we know the place,” the man answered quickly. “A car is already on it’s way.”

“Oh,” she nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be waiting by the road.”

It wasn’t very long before a car pulled up, the same driver who had dropped them off, stopping smoothly in front of her and quickly lowering to the ground. She took one last look around in case she spotted Mon-El, perhaps wandering around outside needing some fresh air too, but when she didn’t see any sign of him, she climbed into the vehicle.

“Back to the Palace, Princess Kara?” the driver asked as soon as she was settled inside.

“Yes, thank you, but you can just call me Kara,” she told him. She didn’t like that. _Princess_. People didn’t call her Princess on Krypton. They knew she was Royalty and they treated her respectfully, but nobody actually called her Princess in casual conversation. She was beginning to realize that they were much less formal about status on Krypton.

“I am required to call you Princess Kara,” he said, his eyes briefly connected with hers in the rear-view mirror. “It’s part of my job,” he nodded at her.

“Oh,” she nodded back. “Okay.” She was silent for a moment. “You know, I wouldn’t tell anyone if you didn’t,” she said.

“It’s my job, Prin--”

“Okay, I get it,” she waved her hand in his direction. “Never mind,” she sighed as her gaze drifted out the window. “Princess Kara it is then.”

She watched out her window for a while at the buildings flying by before she remembered to buckle herself in. Boy, this driver was speedy behind the wheel. Maybe this was just how people drove on Daxam? She’d have to learn how to use those pods Mon-El had mentioned to drive herself around the city _safely_.

The city around her was dark; buildings crumbling and uninviting. She couldn’t believe that this was to be her home from now on. Hopefully when the rest of the inhabitants of Krypton made their way over here, they could help bring some of their light into the darkness of this planet.

It wasn’t long before the car stopped in front of the gate she’d already learned to recognize; the gate closing off the Daxamite Royal Palace from the rest of the population. She thanked the driver and stepped out of the car.

“Princess Kara,” the window to the car’s front seat faded away. “I just need to unlock the gate for us. I can drive you right up to the door--”

“No,” she stopped him, holding a hand out in his direction. “It’s barely a minute away. I’ll walk. I need the air. Thank you--” she paused as she realized she didn’t know his name. “Sir, what’s your name?”

He looked surprised at her question; as if nobody had ever cared to ask before. “Rhys,” he said softly.

She leaned on the car, extending her hand out to him. He took it gently and she shook it, his grasp on her hand soft and barely there. “Thank you, Rhys, for picking me up. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.”

“Have a pleasant night, Pri--” he paused, his eyes connecting with hers. “Kara,” he whispered as he nodded.

She grinned back at him, “You too.”

The car pulled away and Kara turned toward the sprawling mansion in front of her; the ridiculously, obnoxiously large home. Why did anyone need this big of a property with so many rooms when the rest of the city, and likely the whole planet, was in such disarray? She moved toward the gate before stopping abruptly. Wait, how would she get inside? Mon-El merely gave her the code for the communication device. She looked at the panel on the wall of the gate. Daxamite writing and numbers; most of which she barely understood. She pressed the unlabelled button and she heard a buzzing noise that caused her to jump back a step, the sound seeming much louder in the darkness than when her parents had pressed it that morning.

Suddenly a hologram of Queen Rhea appeared in front of her. That was enough to terrify a person at this time of night. Realistically that scowl on her face was enough to terrify anyone, anywhere, at any time. Rhea…her soon to be _mother-in-law_. She shivered.

“Princess Kara,” her voice stated more than questioned. “Where is my son?”

“I--I thought he might have already come home. Or…I don’t know. He gave me the calling device before we left. I didn’t see him at the club so I just called for the ride and came back…”

The gate suddenly unlocked, the black bars swinging inward and open as the hologram disappeared. Rhea didn’t look surprised that her son had ditched her at the club tonight. It also sounded like he wasn’t already home.

She looked up at the towering front door in the distance. She grumbled to herself as she started trudging up the path. Before she’d even made it a quarter of the way to the house, the door swung open as far as the hinges would allow and Rhea stood in the doorway staring back at her. Her glare even at that distance made Kara feel the need to speed up her steps and she urged herself up the pathway toward the woman.

“Uh, hi,” Kara greeted awkwardly.

“You don’t know when my son will be returning?” she asked her, her tone clearly annoyed.

“He was dancing…when I looked back he wasn’t there anymore. I didn’t want to sit around alone,” she shrugged, “So I came back. I haven’t heard from him.”

Rhea finally backed away, clearing enough room for Kara to step inside the home. Lar Gand came around the corner and into the foyer, a smile appearing on his face when he noticed Kara moving over the threshold.

“Princess Kara!” he greeted cheerfully. “You’ve returned…without Mon-El?” he asked, his eyebrows quickly furrowing together.

“Please, can everyone around here just call me _Kara_?” she requested. “The Princess thing is weird,” she shook her head. “We didn’t do that on Krypton.”

“Well, this isn’t Krypton, young lady. Here we use proper titles.” She heard the door shut behind her as she turned to face the older woman. “I still expect you to refer to me as Queen.”

“That is until it becomes ‘Mother’,” Lar Gand added with a pointed finger and a grin. Kara’s eyes widened. She couldn’t tell if he was being serious or trying to be funny. She just knew there was no way in hell she’d be referring to Rhea as Queen _or_ Mother. She’d just have to avoid referring to her at all.

“Can I be excused?” she asked quietly. “This day has been…” _Awful. Upsetting. Depressing. Humiliating._ “…tiring. I’d like to go to my room for the night, if that’s okay.”

“Have you eaten?” Rhea asked.

“No, but I’m not really--”

“We’ll send something to your room,” Lar Gand cut her off.

Kara nodded silently as she moved toward the staircase and headed upstairs to her room.

One of the female servants, Maeve, had brought Kara something for dinner shortly after she’d settled in. When she’d returned to her room, there were linens dressing the bed and a few more items of clothing on the rack, including a set of pajamas and a sleep shirt. A different woman came to pick up her dishes a few hours later ( _How many slaves did they keep here?_ ) and she’d asked her for directions to the library. She’d already forgotten where most of the rooms in this home were, but she knew the library and reading rooms would quickly and easily become her favourites.

She’d returned to her bedroom with a couple of books, intending to try to read until she was tired enough to fall sleep. That wasn’t really working though; her eyes moving across the pages, but her brain neglecting to register a single word. It was going to be a long night.

She had no idea what time it was, but she’d noticed a clock in the library that had read _10:30pm_. She felt like that was a long while ago, but she didn’t actually know how long she’d been lying in bed staring at the ceiling. So, she flicked off the lights, got under the covers and prayed to Rao that she’d actually get some sleep tonight; her mind still running a mile a minute about her new predicament. At least she could look forward to seeing Alex tomorrow. She’d have to look for the little things in her life to enjoy now; the tiny things that could give her pleasure in this new, unappealing situation she had been thrown into.

* * *

Kara didn’t know how long she’d stared at the ceiling of her new bedroom trying to force herself to sleep. Her eyes had already gotten used to the darkness, she having been lying there for so long unable drift off. It had barely been a day and she was _so over this_. This fake relationship. This Daxamite home. This tiny hole in the wall of a bedroom

She remembered the window in the next room. Mon-El’s room. She debated finding a way to quietly break through it and jump out; escaping from the life she’d been forced into, but she wondered how far she would get before someone recognized her as an outsider. She’d be lost in a second. Unless she could manage to find that transmatter portal she and her parents had used to get to this planet? Never mind how she’d actually survive jumping out the two-story window of a giant mansion…

The sound of Mon-El’s bedroom door swinging open knocked her out of her thoughts, the doorknob slamming loudly against the wall.

“Shhhhh!” she heard him shush. “My betrothed is in the other room,” he laughed, nodding in the direction of Kara’s (thankfully) closed bedroom door. Kara heard the door slam shut again.

“You have a wife!?” she heard the woman’s harsh whisper in the other room which was followed by a light giggle.

“No, no,” he corrected and repeated, “Betrothed.” He clearly waited a beat; neither of them saying anything. “We’re not married yet,” he stated simply in explanation, clearly giving up on waiting for her to make sense of it. His voice was a little clearer that time, he obviously not really caring much about whether or not Kara actually could hear him. “She’s just my fiancée.”

He said it like it was nothing; as if them getting married didn’t mean a thing. Then she heard the woman giggle again and somebody knocked something to the floor; a loud crash echoing in the distance.

“And she’s okay with you and me sleeping together?”

“I don’t care if she sleeps with someone else,” Mon-El shrugged at the girl in his arms. “It’s fine,” he assured her. “I’m sure she feels the same way; she probably hates me as much as I hate her.”

“So, why are you marrying her then?” the girl asked with raised eyebrows, her voice sounding as confused as she looked.

“My parents are making me. You know, just another one of those arranged marriages. My parents are pretty traditional, but don’t worry, it won’t last,” he laughed. “Now, why are we talking about my future wife anyway?” he asked, his hand sliding some of her blonde hair behind her ear.

Kara cringed as she heard the obvious sounds of making out; something she was sure her future husband shouldn’t be doing with someone other than her, and something she knew she _definitely_ didn’t want to listen to. She curved up the ends of her pillow, jamming the fluffy fabric against both of her ears as she squished her eyes shut tight. It did little to stifle the sound though, her room being too quiet and close to his to drown anything out.

She sighed heavily, biting her lip and trying to fight off the tears she could feel were coming. She couldn’t believe that she had been abandoned here; left on her own with a family that made her feel so uncomfortable and like such an outsider, with an arranged marriage to a guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants for even _one_ night.

She missed her own home. She missed her own room. She missed her own bed.

Her own clothes. Her own family. Her own life.

She let the tears fall freely down her face; the thin streams running down her cheeks late into the night until she was finally able to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave some love if you can. I ALWAYS appreciate it! :)
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_
> 
> *** Feel free to DM me or request in the comments here to be added to my "notify on Twitter list" when there's a new update or fic. Just let me know your Twitter handle and I'll add you to the list!


	7. Breakfast with the Daxamites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When she made it down to the Dining Hall, everyone was already waiting for her; empty plates sitting in front of Lar Gand, Rhea and Mon-El, all eyes flicking upward to watch her as she entered. ‘I didn’t know you were waiting for me. I’m sorry,’ she apologized as she looked around at the chairs at the table. ‘Where do I sit?’ she asked awkwardly. ‘Wherever you want, Princess,’ Mon-El grinned; not pleasantly though; almost in satisfaction at her awkward predicament.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> A long weekend means I have time for an update! Happy Family Day to my fellow Canadians...whose Province has said that's what today is. I think it's also Presidents Day in the USA? Wherever you are today, and whether or not you had the day off, I hope you're having a good day.
> 
> At least, I hope you're having a better day than Kara is...
> 
> ** Please note the rating bump. We all knew it would happen eventually, so I want to do it before things get too intense.

_Day Two_

Mon-El reached up and tangled his fingers in the long blonde hair in front of him; the golden tresses swaying rhythmically with each thrust of her body on top of him. Her head tilted back with his gentle tug, a giggle escaping her lips as she rolled her lower half against his own. His hands trailed down her naked back and landed on her hips, his fingers digging into her skin.

“Kara,” he groaned, her name soft, almost pained as it left his lips; his climax so close that he almost couldn’t bear it. Her hands were tickling his thighs as she used his body for leverage; her hands pressing against his skin to angle herself.

“Kara,” he called out again.

“Yes, baby,” she cooed at him, her voice smooth and silky as it hit his ears.

“I’m close,” he warned. She reached down, her hands grabbing a hold of his as she pulled them higher, sliding his hands along her body to cup her breasts. Her movements made him sit up, his chest meeting her back as he kneaded her breasts in his hands.

He kissed the back of her shoulder and along her skin toward her neck, his nose buried in her hair.

Suddenly he was startled awake, blonde tresses tickling his nose and he swatted at the locks, trying to get them away from and off of his face. He blinked repeatedly, trying to urge himself back into consciousness, fighting to prevent a sneeze from escaping his assaulted nose. He noted the hard on he’d awoken with, reminding him that all of that was only a dream.

He looked around his room; quiet, the sun already up, shining through the window and lighting the room. He looked at the woman in his bed, her back to him. He furrowed his eyebrows. Kara? He examined the hair in front of him. It wasn’t the right blonde; brassy, not golden. He ran a hand along her bare back and she inhaled sharply, his touch startling her awake.

“Mmmm,” the woman hummed. “Morning.”

He cleared his throat. “Morning,” he returned as his eyes landed on Kara’s still closed bedroom door. “Uhm…you should probably head home,” he told her as he moved to sit up. She blinked a few times, her hand lifting to rub at her eye.

“Oh,” she said quietly. “You don’t want to--”

He shook his head at her quickly.

“Okay…” She moved to get out of the bed and he swung his legs off of his side of the bed, subtly trying to cover his lower half from her view. He didn’t know why; normally he’d be up for a round two (or three), and even though he was ready to go again, something inside of him said that he wanted her to leave.

The girl searched the room for the rest of her clothing. “Do you know where my shoes are?” she called out from across the room.

“Shhh,” he shushed her, a finger to his lips. “You’ll wake Kara!”

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. “Kara?” she asked, quieter this time.

He pointed at the closed door she was standing next to. “My fiancée.”

Last night it didn’t bother him, but that was probably the drinks’ doing. This morning, in the light of day, the word “fiancée” made his ears ring a little and his stomach clench up. He hoped Kara was asleep last night when he’d brought this girl home. She continued to find her things and dress as Mon-El’s own eyebrows crinkled.

Wait.

Why the hell did he care if Kara had heard anything? She knew what he’d gone looking for last night. If she’d wanted some of him, he would have been game. He’d thought he’d made that crystal clear to her.

Or maybe she’d found her own someone to spend the night with. In that case, all he had to be concerned with was whether or not she was able to sneak back in without his mother noticing anything. That way at least he wouldn’t have to be lectured about the importance of keeping this contract intact this morning over breakfast.

Then he noticed that the girl was leaving his room with a little wave. Hmm, he didn’t even think to get her name. Oh well.

He sighed as he turned to lay back on his bed under the covers, groaning at the stiffness between his legs. His eyes darted to the closed door that separated him from Kara. Well, assuming that she was even in there...

One of his hands trailed down and underneath the bedcovers and he grabbed a hold of himself tightly; his fingers wrapping around his shaft and beginning to stroke.

Suddenly, Kara’s bedroom door creaked open; slowly, but fast enough that it nearly gave him a heart attack. He flew into a seated position, his hand releasing himself as he ensured to cover up.

“Kara!” he choked out, his voice clearly giving away how startled he was.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. I just wanted to make sure that she was gone before I came out.”

He nodded, “Oh, that’s okay. She uh…” he paused. It already didn’t sound all that great in his head. “She knew about you.”

“Yeah,” she nodded in return as she stepped out of the room. “That’s _exactly_ why I wanted to wait for her to leave. What kind of woman lets her fiancé sleep with another woman only a few feet away from her? I’d rather that she _didn’t_ know who I was.”

He cleared his throat. “You do realize that soon enough everyone will know who you are anyway, right?”

“Yeah, but--”

“I do have a reputation,” he laughed.

“Yeah, and I still can’t believe that’s what I’m marrying.” They were both silent for a minute, eyes awkwardly not meeting each other’s before Kara continued. “Can you just warn me the next time you bring a girl home? At least then I can find some other room to sleep in or something?”

“Well, that’ll probably be tonight, so you might as well start looking now,” he shrugged.

She cringed, her nose crinkling up as she connected her eyes with his. “Gross.”

“ _You_ don’t have to sleep with me, but I am a Daxamite. I have to sleep with _someone_. It’s in my nature.”

“Every night?”

He nodded back at her.

“You mean to tell me that you can’t last _one night_ without having sex with someone?”

“Look at you, Princess. Saying the s-word without hesitation. I’m rubbing off on you already.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous. You won’t die if you abstain for a few nights, at least until I get used to sleeping in this stupid house of yours. It’s already weird enough here, now I have to put up with you having all this sex right outside my door.”

“You’re welcome to join in,” he stated, but as soon as the words left his lips, he wished they hadn’t; his still hardened cock twitching underneath the sheets over the idea of having her in his bed.

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks,” she crinkled her nose at him.

“Your loss,” he shrugged nonchalantly, but a part of him felt that he was really the loser in this scenario.

“Which way is the washroom again?” she asked, changing the subject.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “There’s one right there,” he nodded at the en suite.

“I’d rather go somewhere more private actually.”

“Outside down the hall then, turn left,” he instructed. “There’s one down that hallway.”

She nodded in thanks.

“That door doesn’t lock though. So, you can decide how you determine what’s private enough,” he cracked a smile. “Or go right. You’re bound to hit another one sooner or later.” She nodded, but didn’t make a move to leave. “Something else you needed to say?” he prodded, his hands pressing on the uncomfortable strain remaining between his legs.

“Do you just sleep with anybody you find?” she asked bluntly. “You spent barely two minutes with me last night before you ran off and found the first girl you could and you just took her home?”

“Well, I’m not reckless. I made sure she had the imprint first.”

“Imprint? What imprint?” Kara crinkled the bridge of her nose at him again.

He laughed at her question before he realized that she had no idea what he was taking about. “I don’t know how they did it on your planet, but Daxamites who are protected from causing pregnancy or becoming pregnant…well, we get injections and a marking appears on our skin. It’s a sure way to prove that everyone’s protected before they, you know, hook up and such.”

“I thought that you didn’t have to actually sleep together in order to conceive…”

“You don’t _have_ to,” he started, “but that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. That’s how accidents are made.” He winked at her before laughing.

“What does the marking look like?” she asked as she stepped closer to him.

“It’s just a small diamond shape on the inside of the wrist. It starts to fade when it comes time for your next injection. Once a month is all you need. We’re working on perfecting it; making it last longer, but it sure beats the alternatives we’ve had.”

“Alternatives?” she continued further with her questioning.

“You could take oral forms of the injection. A little pill, but it had to be taken daily and we couldn’t figure out how to make it work properly for males.” He shrugged. “Nobody really uses it anymore. Well, I think the people of Earth still do. Here we’ve essentially replaced it with the injection format. You know how promiscuous Daxamites are,” he said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes aimed in her direction. “It was the smartest way.”

“Can I see yours?” she questioned. When he looked at her strangely, “Your imprint?”

There was no way that he would be removing his hands from where they were strategically placed, not that it would matter anyway. “I don’t have one,” he shrugged at her.

Her eyes widened, “But you just said--”

“ _She_ had one. I haven’t had any injections in a while. It was just about time for my next one, but from now on, my mother is ensuring that I don’t get any more of them. I’m supposed to be getting _you_ pregnant, remember? The contract?”

“Oh.”

He watched as she continued to stand there, her face clearly implying that she was thinking over everything he’d just explained.

“I thought you were going to the washroom?” he pushed.

“Oh, right,” she nodded. “Towels?”

“Whichever one you go to, they’re likely in the cabinet just inside the doorway.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly before she moved back into her closet-room and picked up her clothes from yesterday in her arms.

She wondered how many more days she’d have to wear the same clothes before someone brought her something else that was wearable on a normal day inside. All of those dresses on the rack were far too fancy, and, as much as she’d like to, she couldn’t wear pajamas all day long. Her eyes connected with Mon-El’s briefly while she passed him and left the room.

He sighed heavily, his hand gripping his still rock hard cock beneath the sheets. He needed his own shower. A _cold_ one.

* * *

Kara made her shower last, knowing that the longer she was in there, the less time she’d have to spend out there with that family. When she was ready for her day, she moved through the hallways of the Palace, giving herself her own tour of the property and trying to remember where all of the important rooms were. She’d wandered around for barely half an hour before one of their servants found her and rushed over.

“Princess Kara, breakfast is ready. You’re expected down in the Dining Hall.”

Kara’s stomach growled before she even realized that she was hungry and she nodded at the man. “Oh…thank you. Uhm, which way is it back to the staircase?” she asked as she blushed lightly. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to this house.

“The main staircase is down this hallway,” he directed her and she thanked him.

When she made it down to the Dining Hall, everyone was already waiting for her; empty plates sitting in front of Lar Gand, Rhea and Mon-El, all eyes flicking upward to watch her as she entered.

“I didn’t know you were waiting for me. I’m sorry,” she apologized as she looked around at the chairs at the table. “Where do I sit?” she asked awkwardly.

“Wherever you want, Princess,” Mon-El grinned; not pleasantly though; almost in satisfaction at her awkward predicament. She could already tell that daily breakfasts would be fun. She took a seat to Mon-El’s right, in front of Rhea and diagonally across from Lar Gand. The table had many chairs but this looked like the seat she was _supposed_ to take.

The food was brought out before Kara had even fully taken her seat and she thanked the servers as they set down her meal in front of her. The two Daxamites across from her eyed her suspiciously for her gratitude toward the hired help, but Mon-El smiled softly at her; his smile almost apologetic as if knowing that she had to accept service from these people when she knew why they were here and thought that they should be returned to their own families.

That boy confused her.

Most of her breakfast was spent in silence; Kara not keeping up with the Daxamites’ conversation, and not caring either way.

“Princess Kara?” Lar Gand’s voice startled her, and her head snapped up, her eyes meeting his. “Did you hear me?”

She shook her head slightly.

“Your friend Alexandra should be here this afternoon. Your parents advised us via the interplanetary telecommunications device late last night that she should be here around the noon hour.”

“Alex,” she correctly lightly. “She prefers Alex. Are my parents coming with her, too?” she asked almost hesitantly.

He shook his head. “I don’t believe so. They had only mentioned Alexandra.”

“Oh,” she said sadly, not bothering to correct him over Alex’s name again.

“Maybe they’re glad to have some space from you for a while. You sure seem to talk about them an awful lot,” Mon-El snickered.

Kara glared at him from across the table. “I do not.”

“Whatever,” he chuckled. “Just relax. They’ll probably stop by soon anyway,” he added from his seat at the table with a shrug, his eyes on his fork as he moved his food around his plate.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “I guess so. I just miss them.”

“It’s barely even been a day,” Rhea scoffed.

“Just because none of us would miss each other doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss them,” Mon-El added nonchalantly and Kara looked back at him. His parents rolled their eyes as if they heard things like this all of the time. Mon-El’s eyes flicked up to finally meet Kara’s and she couldn’t stop the smile of slight gratitude from slipping onto her face.

Maybe he wouldn’t be intolerable after all.

But she definitely didn’t want to _marry_ the guy!

When they’d finished breakfast, their plates were cleared and everyone dispersed without a single word to each other. She continued to sit in her chair for a moment, confused as to what she was supposed to do with herself now.

Where should she go? Was she even allowed to leave the Palace? She exhaled heavily; a loud sigh as she stood from her chair. Looks like she had time to continue that tour she was interrupted from earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sending love to all of you!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	8. Friendly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Suddenly, there was a knock on the open door of the room and her head lifted toward the sound. ‘Princess Kara, you have a visitor,’ a servant greeted her. Then Alex jumped into the room, bypassing the man completely and running into Kara’s arms. ‘Alex!’ she shouted happily, clearly ecstatic that her friend had finally made it to the planet. ‘You’re here!’ she whispered into the girl’s ear as she pulled her into a tight hug.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> Not much to say today other than THANK YOU ALL for reading. I've been getting such wonderfully kind feedback and it really warms my heart that you all are loving this story.

_Day Two (Continued)_

Kara sat in one of the libraries of the Palace, her hand flipping through a book (which it had been doing for at least a couple of hours), her eyes barely scanning the words on the pages anymore. She didn’t feel like reading. She didn’t want to be in this house. She wanted to go home; back to her own Palace on her own planet, with her family and her friends and her life.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the open door of the room and her head lifted toward the sound.

“Princess Kara, you have a visitor,” a servant greeted her.

Then Alex jumped into the room, bypassing the man completely and running into Kara’s arms.

“Alex!” she shouted happily, clearly ecstatic that her friend had finally made it to the planet. “You’re here!” she whispered into the girl’s ear as she pulled her into a tight hug.

“Of course I’m here!” she returned as she gripped onto Kara just as tightly. “You needed your stuff, but more importantly, I needed to see this new guy of yours,” she winked at her as she pulled back.

“My parents told you?” she asked sadly, her voice filled with disappointment. In one day’s time, they’d already told Alex about the arrangement, yet they’d managed to keep the secret from their own daughter the entire time that the contract was being drawn up?

“They told me after you left. Last night they called and said that you came here and needed some of your things to be brought to you and they thought it would be best if I did it.”

“Did you read the contract?” she sighed.

“Contract? What contract?” she questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

“So they _didn’t_ tell you?” Kara asked confusedly.

“They told me you’d met a boy from Daxam and that you two were going to get married.”

“And that didn’t sound strange to you?” she asked exasperatedly.

“Well, yeah, obviously,” she agreed. “I mean why would you want to live _here_ of all places? They had said it really nonchalantly. I just assumed that you’d be the only one to tell me the whole story anyway,” she shrugged. “What contract?” she asked again.

“They went behind my back and drew up a contract for me to sign that says I have to marry a guy from Daxam in order to unite our people. Well, not just any guy. Their _Prince_.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow at her friend. “And you signed it?”

“Alex, I didn’t have a choice! It was a binding agreement between my parents and his.” Kara moved to sit down on one of the sofas in the middle of the room. Alex followed her and did the same.

Kara told her about the contract; the terms she was bound to, the requirements of their people, and how everyone would eventually be united on a single planet again.

“Okay, Kara, I know this all sounds ridiculous to you, but…maybe this could be a good thing for you?” she said as she cringed slightly and watched Kara’s reaction to her statement.

“How in _any way_ could this _possibly_ be a good thing for me?” she asked her friend, her eyes wide.

“Well, not just you. I mean, I don’t know. Maybe he’s not such a bad guy? Maybe you’ll actually learn to like him; to fall in love with him even. But for our people…the Kryptonians, Kara.” Kara sighed loudly as Alex continued. “We’ll have a home now. You and I both know our planet wasn’t thriving; it was barely existing. We can start fresh here. It sounds like this contract is going to make sure that happens.”

Kara stared at Alex, her eyes starting to fill with tears. “I don’t want to marry him, Alex,” she shook her head. “He’s a terrible person.”

Alex wrapped her arm around the girl she’d come to know like a sister. “How so?” she prodded.

“He’s rude, self-entitled, spoiled,” her voice quieted to a whisper, “and he sleeps with _everyone_!”

“Kara,” Alex whispered back. “You’ve probably just described _every_ Daxamite…”

“Now you see my point!” She stated exasperatedly. “Why do _I_ have to be stuck marrying a guy like that? Why is that _my_ responsibility?”

Alex shrugged. “I suppose it’s just something you have to do as the Princess of Krypton. We all have to make sacrifices sometimes and I guess this is yours.”

“You sound just like them.” Kara said as she shook off Alex’s arm and stood from the sofa.

“Sound like who?” Alex asked, eyebrows furrowed together.

“My parents! The ones who ditched me here with this awful family. You…I thought that you of all people would be on my side!”

“I’m _always_ on your side!” Alex stated as she stood and moved back toward Kara.

“Kara,” Mon-El started loudly as he let himself into the room, eyes trained on the screen of the device in his hand. “My parents said I have to take you shopping after your friend visits, so when--” he paused as he finally glanced up, noticing Kara and Alex both staring back at him silently. “Oh,” he paused. “I guess your friend is already here,” he stated obviously.

“She is,” Alex stated, eyes wide as she stared at him. “Are you the soon-to-be-husband of my best friend?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he sighed heavily. He turned to Kara. “When you’re free we’ll go? I don’t want to spend my whole day girl-shopping.”

“I thought that was your favourite activity…” Kara bit back.

“Ha ha,” he fake laughed and Alex let out a chuckle. “Whatever. Come find me when you’re done.” He turned around to leave, his eyes falling back to the device in his hands. He left the room without another word and Alex immediately turned to face Kara.

“Wow,” she stated excitedly. “He’s really hot.”

Kara stared back at her annoyed. “He is _not_ ,” she stated firmly.

“Do you have eyes?” she asked with a laugh. “He’s gorgeous. I mean, you know I have a thing for the ladies, but whew,” she lifted her hand to dramatically fan herself.

“He didn’t even introduce himself to you.”

“Doesn’t bother me,” she shrugged.

“He’s a Daxamite.”

“And?” she returned.

“And…” Kara paused. She didn’t really have a point that she wanted to prove other than that fact. “And we’re not supposed to like them.”

“Says who?” Alex asked.

“Ancient custom. Kryptonian culture.”

Alex laughed loudly. “Kara, times are changing. It’s clear with this contract. Pretty soon, we’ll all be living here again. Together.” She put her hands on Kara’s shoulders. “Pretty soon, nobody is going to care who’s a Daxamite and who’s a Kryptonian. We’ll all be nice enough to each other in order to share this planet and its resources and who knows, maybe we’ll even eventually be friends.”

“You sound a little too hopeful,” Kara said. “I think you have too much faith in these people.”

“I have faith in you, Kara. You’re going to find a way to make this work. You’re smart and your parents are smart. If they drew up this contract, they must have a reason to believe that it’ll work.”

Kara sighed heavily as she placed her hands on Alex’s. “I sure hope so. But I don’t think I’ll _ever_ be accepting of this situation.”

“Just think,” Alex started. “In a worst case scenario, you can get some of _that_ ,” she shook her head in the direction of where Mon-El had walked out.

“Alex!”

“I’m just saying,” she shrugged. “He’s hot.” Kara rolled her eyes. “He sounds experienced--”

“Ew,” Kara interrupted.

“You need to _finally_ get some…” she continued.

“Alex!” she whispered harshly.

“What? An opportunity has presented itself. We all know that you weren’t getting _any_ on Krypton.”

“Shhhh!” she shushed her friend. “Can you not?”

Alex laughed. “Oh, so they don’t know that you’re a--”

“No! No, they don’t and I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself, please.”

“Hmph,” she hummed. “I would have thought that _that_ would have been a big part of the deal.”

“Ew, Alex--”

Alex held up a hand toward Kara. “I’m just saying that why wouldn’t a Royal Family want someone who was…how do I say this?” Kara glared at her. “ _Precious_ enough for their little Prince,” Alex finished with a laugh.

“Well, I can tell you one thing. He’s never going to find out.”

“Well, he will when you sleep together for the first time,” she laughed again.

“We’re never going to sleep together.”

Alex cocked her eyebrow at Kara. “I’m pretty sure you just said that sex was in the contract...”

“I’m going to find a way to break it.”

“You’re going to go out and get some somewhere else!” Alex shouted in a whisper as she raised her hand in a high five.

Kara ignored her gesture and simply shook her head. “No.”

“You’re going to kill him non-suspiciously?” she questioned with furrowed eyebrows as she dropped her hand.

“I’m going to wait it out.”

“Wait what out?”

“The contract,” she said plainly. “We get married in six months and I have to conceive a baby in the six months after that. So,” she shrugged. “I’ll just wait a year and then they’ll let me out of the contract and find someone else to hook him up with.”

“A year is a long time, Kara,” Alex stated.

“A lifetime married to someone you hate is a _lot_ longer, Alex,” she returned.

“I see your point,” she leaned into her friend. “I just don’t see why you can’t have a little fun in the meantime.” She wigged her eyebrows at Kara.

“Our first night together, he took me to a club.” Alex jokingly gasped in horror and Kara nodded at her, completely serious. “And he left me there while he found some girl and he brought her home with him and they had sex in the room all night next to me.”

“They were doing it in the same room as you?!”

Kara nearly stomped her foot on the floor beneath her. “Alex, please be serious about this!”

Alex laughed. “Kara, you’re a tough girl. If you set your mind to something, you’ll get it done. I’m sure you’ll wait out this contract just fine, but can I give you some advice? Because I just want to be selfish for a minute. Please, think about the rest of us for a little bit; all the people you’ll be saving by going through with this. Just…maybe be open to the possibility of learning to get along with and like the guy, and dare I say it again, maybe you’ll even come to love him.”

Kara sighed and after a few moments. “I’ll keep an open mind.”

“Great,” she nodded. “Now, you’re going to give me a tour of this place before I have to head home.”

“I hope I don’t get lost doing it. I still haven’t quite figured out the whole layout just yet.”

“How many rooms are in this monstrous place?” Alex asked, wide-eyed.

“Fifty-eight.”

“ _Fifty-eight_?! Insane!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some love if you can -- I ALWAYS appreciate it! :)
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_
> 
> *** Feel free to DM me or request in the comments here to be added to my "notify on Twitter list" when there's a new update or fic. Just let me know your Twitter handle and I'll add you to the list!


	9. Truth and Thunderstorms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “She’d hated storms since she was a little girl. Their loudness, unpredictable winds, and dark gloomy clouds had always filled her with worry. Usually she was at home, under her own comfortable roof with her family where she knew she was protected; where she knew she was safe. She felt anything but safe here.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops.
> 
> I didn't mean to abandon you guys.
> 
> I know I said I'd probably post once a week, but I've been so busy at work, and with things around the house, and then all of a sudden multiple weeks went by and then when I was trying to post a chapter, my computer kept crashing. Fun times. So, I think I'm on track again. Hopefully I can keep sticking to the posting once a week thing. And hopefully I fixed my computer (but who knows because the BSOD likes to continue to surprise me every so often).
> 
> But anyway, I know you guys prefer new chapters instead of excuses, so on to the next chapter! Enjoy!

_Day Two (Continued)_

Mon-El’s parents let Kara skip lunch to spend more time with Alex before she had to go back to Krypton. She hadn’t even crossed through the transmatter portal before Kara had started crying. She’d promised to see her again soon, this time coming back with her parents for the announcement to the people of Daxam about the upcoming nuptials.

Soon after, she was whisked away by Mon-El for a quick trip to the nearby mall where he shoved her through the stores, clearly trying to get her to hurry up and get what she needed so that they could leave. He’d barely said more than a few words, and other than paying for the items each time, he didn’t interact with anyone other than her; as if he didn’t want to potentially be seen with a Kryptonian in public by anyone he knew. He seemed nervous; stumbling over his words, fidgeting, guiding her along quickly through the doors and hallways until they made it back to the car that was waiting for them.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked after they’d settled into the backseat of the car.

“What?”

“You couldn’t seem to get me in and out of that place fast enough. You’re all fidgety and jumpy. Are you really that embarrassed to be seen with me in public?” she asked with furrowed eyebrows.

He sighed loudly. “I’d just rather not have to drag you around behind me all day.”

“I didn’t ask you to take me here. I didn’t even want to go shopping.” She crossed her arms in front of herself. “I didn’t make you _drag_ me anywhere.”

“No, you didn’t, but because everything you own has that self-righteous glyph of yours all over it, my parents said that you needed to get some other clothes in order to keep living here.”

“Another thing I didn’t ask for…” she mumbled.

Rhys returned to the car after having put all their shopping bags into the trunk. He slammed his door shut and proceeded to pull out of the lot and drive back toward the Palace.

“Well, I’m sorry that you’re worried about being seen with a Kryptonian in public, but that’s apparently the way it’s going to be from now on,” she rolled her eyes before turning toward the window on her side.

Truth be told, this had nothing to do with having to take time out of his day to take her shopping. In reality, he didn’t like the way that the other Daxamite males were looking at her; ogling her at every step she took. Yes, he didn’t want people to know that she was Kryptonian, but that was for her own good. Their planets hadn’t been made aware of the contract yet; they believed they were still figuratively at war with each other. He didn’t want to be seen with a Kryptonian. The Prince of Daxam and a Kryptonian Princess out shopping together? Ridiculous!

But what he wouldn’t say out loud was that he didn’t like the way that all this _felt_.

Those Daxamites, they couldn’t tell that she was Kryptonian. That wasn’t their issue at all. They were interested in her body; that gorgeous body of hers that she seemed so oblivious about. She just eyed everyone, smiling with that thousand watt smile of hers as she carried on throughout the place.

It was driving him _nuts_.

She was supposed to be _his_ now. He didn’t want her getting the attention of every other Daxamite that walked by her. _She_ was supposed to worship _him_.

They were silent for a long while before he finally couldn’t keep it inside anymore.

“You didn’t notice the way those Daxamites were looking at you?” he blurted out.

“You think they knew?” she asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows confusedly. Was she actually doing it on purpose? “Knew what?” he questioned back.

“That I’m Kryptonian.”

He rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t what they were seeing, Kara. Your body. The way you were flaunting your looks for them.”

“Excuse me?” she asked surprised. “I wasn’t _flaunting_ anything. I was just walking.”

“And staring at everybody. Smiling. Trying to entice them--”

“I was not _staring_ at people. I was making eye contact with them. Respectfully greeting them when we passed each other.”

“Well, we don’t do that here,” he shook his head. “Guys thought that you were interested in them. Probably the women, too.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?” she asked with a shrug. So what if people found her attractive? She shouldn’t be nice or courteous to them?

“You know my mother would freak out on you for trying to break the contract. You shouldn’t do that so publicly. If you want to find someone to sleep with, you need to be more subtle about it all until you figure out what the steps to getting out of this contract and back to your planet safely are.”

“I wasn’t trying to sleep with anybody, Mon-El. I was literally just walking through the mall.”

“Whatever,” he shook his head before turning to look out the window. “I don’t care anyway. I was just letting you know to be careful or else you’re going to be facing my mother’s wrath.”

Besides all of that, it was too difficult to have her following him around making accidentally cute comments all afternoon, staring at him with those soft blue eyes, trying on clothes and asking for his opinion, watching her hips sway in front of him as she moved.

No.

He didn’t need any of _that_.

He continued to stare out the window on his side of the car. Where was this even coming from? Usually none of this would be affecting him at all. He’d just sleep with who he wanted and move along. But something about her, in barely a couple of days, had drawn his attention in a way that no other woman had before.

Maybe because she wasn’t just any other woman. She was a _Kryptonian_. Somewhat forbidden in terms of what he’d been accustomed to; of what he’d been taught to desire his whole life.

That had to be it. There was nothing special about this girl. He was just…confused with this situation; his feelings and his beliefs tangling with the physical desire he felt for her body.

He turned slightly to look back at her. She was staring out her own window, a slight scowl on her face, likely just from having to be in his presence on the drive back. He sighed heavily before turning to look back out his window, realizing that it was going to be a long (and silent) ride home.

* * *

The family dinner that night was as silent as the car ride back from the mall had been. Forks and knives clanging against dishes, quiet chewing of food and sipping of drinks, but nothing more than a mumble between family members of “pass this”, “move that”, or “hand me those”.

Was this how every night’s dinner was going to be? For the _rest of her life_?

“I’ll be back later,” Mon-El announced to the table; the first full sentence spoken all evening. He didn’t say where he was going or what he would be doing, but everyone was able to deduce that anyway. Kara herself could figure it out, even after only knowing him for a couple of days.

But nobody said anything about it.

His mother didn’t oppose. His father didn’t jump in. So, she didn’t say a word. She just went along with it and made a mental note with herself to find a guest room to sleep in tonight.

“May I be excused?” she asked once he had left, both his parents remaining at their place at the table.

“Certainly, Princess,” Lar Gand nodded at her and she suppressed her cringe as she stood. Maybe one day they’d start addressing her as Kara.

But she wasn’t going to hold on to hope.

* * *

Mon-El pushed the bathroom door open quietly, a toothy grin appearing on his face as he watched her silhouette move behind the frosted glass panes of the shower. He stepped toward her, removing his boxers as he moved, dropping them to the floor before reaching for the glass door. He stepped into the shower behind her, sliding the pane closed after himself, the steam trapped inside immediately clinging to his body. He reached for her; his arms sliding around her waist as he leaned into her form, his chest pressed to her back, his lips to her neck.

“Were you waiting up for me, Kara?” he whispered against her skin.

“Always,” she whispered back before giggling lightly. “You know I can’t sleep when you’re not next to me.”

He kissed the back of her shoulder gently. “I’m here now,” he mumbled as his hand slid along her stomach, slowly moving lower and lower until his fingers were brushing through damp curls.

“But I don’t want to sleep anymore,” she assured him, shaking her head back and forth.

“You don’t?” he questioned teasingly.

“Mm mmn,” she mumbled as she shook her head again.

“That’s okay,” he responded. “Neither do I.” His fingers slid further, finding her heat and stroking her softly.

“Mmmm,” she hummed at him and his leg slid between hers as she leaned into him, his thigh resting between the two of hers as his thumb flicked at her clit.

There was a loud bang in the distance and both their heads turned toward the bathroom door.

“What was that?” she questioned quietly before the sound echoed again.

Mon-El’s eyes popped open as the loud noise startled him out of his fantasy. He blinked a few times as he tried to orient himself in the darkness. He was in bed. Alone. Not that he should expect Kara to be next to him or anything.

But he heard water running? His head whipped toward the bathroom, his heart pounding in his chest as he thought for a brief second that his fantasy could potentially become reality.

The room was dark. Couldn’t be the shower.

He rubbed at his eyes before his foggy mind was able to put two and two together. That’s when he realized it was raining outside. The banging noise was thunder outside his window.

He sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He already had a headache after only being conscious for mere seconds. He had to start going easier on the drinking. His eyes darted to Kara’s bedroom. Her door was closed. It had been closed since he’d stumbled in, limbs tangled with his girl of the evening who had since gone home, not having stayed long after the conclusion of their “escapade.”

His head fell back to the pillow as his hand rubbed at the creases in his forehead. The thunder boomed outside again, lightning briefly flashing across the window and casting an eerie glow inside his bedroom. He was never going to get back to sleep with all this noise. He sat up before spinning in his bed, legs sliding off the edge, his feet hitting the floor. Maybe a glass of water would help his headache. He wobbled on his feet for a second before moving through the darkness and out into the hall, intent on heading to the kitchen.

* * *

Kara stood in the kitchen; the one that Mon-El told her they never used, her lower back pressed against the counter near the sink as she leaned in silence.

Okay, not silence.

There was a storm raging outside. Thunder and rain, the odd flicker of lightning.

In fear of having to listen to Mon-El and his chosen girl of the night have sex all evening right outside her door, she’d been pleasantly sound asleep in a guest bedroom down the hall before she’d been startled awake by the thunderous, booming storm outside.

Kara hated storms.

A lot.

In all honesty, something about them terrified her. A force of nature so impulsive, destructive and possibly deadly. How could you find anything to love about a storm?

Even worse, storms sounded different here. Louder almost; as if the thunder, lightning and rain had to cover more ground on this larger planet so it had to try harder at being louder; at being bolder.

She’d hated storms since she was a little girl. Their loudness, unpredictable winds, and dark gloomy clouds had always filled her with worry. Usually she was at home, under her own comfortable roof with her family where she knew she was protected; where she knew she was safe.

She felt anything but safe here.

She couldn’t sleep; the consistent clapping of thunder had startled her awake a couple of times already, so she had just given up on sleeping altogether.

She crept through her bedroom, through the hallways, hoping that Mon-El’s parents weren’t awoken by the same storm because she definitely didn’t want to have to discuss how she’d searched out another bedroom tonight just to stay away from their son.

And now here she stood, in the darkness in an otherwise silent kitchen in the middle of this massive Palace, clutching a glass of water so tightly with each bolt of lightning and boom of thunder that she was afraid it would shatter in her hand.

She missed her home.

She missed her family.

This planet…this wasn’t home. And these people…these Daxamites, they were definitely _not_ her family. No matter how much they pushed it on her with this contract, they were never going to be her family.

But then again, her real family sold her out. Drew up a contract, signed it and sent her away. So really, what was family anymore?

She sighed heavily as she took another sip of water from the glass. That was about all she could have. The help had gone to bed for the night and she didn’t know where anything else was in this damn place. Not that she would bother them anyway. It was the middle of the night. It was bad enough they were forced to work for this family all day; she wouldn’t wake them to help her now.

She finished the last of the liquid in her glass and she stared at the empty sink. Did she just leave it in there? Was she supposed to wash it and put it back in the cupboard? Maybe she should…just to save the servants the trouble tomorrow. While she was busy debating with herself, she heard shuffling feet in the distance; slow, but steadily heading her way. Her eyes were wide when she looked up at the shirtless form crossing over the threshold.

“Mon-El?” she asked in a harsh whisper. He jumped, clearly startled by her presence in the kitchen. This place was massive. What were the odds that they’d both end up in the same room at the same time in the middle of the night?

“Kara?” he mumbled sleepily. “I thought you were sleeping.”

She shook her head. “The storm is too loud. I couldn’t sleep.”

“How did you get here before me?” he looked at her confusedly. “Your bedroom door was still closed when I got up…”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t in there. I wanted to avoid listening to the moans and the creaking springs of your mattress all night so I slept in another room.”

He nodded slightly as he moved toward the same cupboard she had been in a few moments ago, his hand reaching to pull a glass down from the shelf before he moved to the sink to fill it. “I see,” he stated.

“Why are you here?” she questioned, eyebrows furrowed at him.

“I live here.”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean why are you in _this_ kitchen? You said you guys never use this kitchen.”

“I said we _rarely_ use this kitchen because the help cooks for us. I didn’t say I _never_ use it. Besides, I just wanted water. I’m not going to go and wake people up to get them to go into the other kitchen to have them pour me a glass of water.” He took a couple of big gulps from the glass he had filled, emptying it completely before refilling it. Kara stared at him incredulously.

“Do you guys _actually_ wake them up in the middle of the night to get you things?”

“Well, _I_ don’t. But I could if I wanted to. My parents do.”

“That’s disgusting,” she shook her head before a loud clap of thunder rang out through the room and she jumped. One hand was clinging to the countertop behind her, knuckles likely white from the death grip she had on the piece of furniture, and the now empty glass almost flew out of her other hand.

“You clearly don’t like storms,” Mon-El stated the obvious.

“No, I don’t.”

“You know, I used to hate storms.”

Her eyes rose and connected with his. “You did?” she asked surprised.

“Yeah,” he nodded before taking another sip. “They can get pretty bad here sometimes, but you just get used to it I guess.”

“What made you get used to it? I mean…I’m going to have to learn to cope with them if I’m gonna be stuck here forever.”

“Well, you just gotta suck it up,” he shrugged.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. “Suck it up?” she repeated.

He nodded before standing next to her, his own back leaning against the same countertop. “That’s what I did, at least.” She continued to stare at him. “When you’re four years old and your mother tells you to ‘suck it up’ and stop crying because ‘men don’t cry over storms’, eventually you learn to get over it. At least so she stops yelling at you about being a baby,” he shrugged again.

Kara’s eyes widened briefly. “Your mother said that kind of stuff to you?”

He eyed her. “You’re surprised she would?”

She paused for a minute as she considered it, picturing his mother in her mind. “Well, no, not really. Just…she’s your mom. She should comfort you when you’re scared, not scold you.”

“Well, if you haven’t noticed by now, I don’t exactly have the picture perfect mother.”

“I _have_ noticed,” she nodded in agreement.

He was silent for a while before he asked quietly, “What did your mother do?”

“Hmm?”

“What did your mother do?” he repeated the question, a little louder this time. “When you were scared of a storm…to…comfort you.” His voice sounded confused, as if parental comfort was a completely foreign concept to him.

“Oh, well she used to try to take my mind off of it. We’d watch movies or play games. When I was young, I used to just crawl into my parents’ bed and stay with them through the night if I was scared.”

Mon-El nodded, almost sadly, as if reflecting on his own childhood and how vastly different things seemed in Kara’s universe.

“Well,” he said suddenly before downing the rest of the water in his glass. “I better head back.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Better sneak back in bed next to your sleeping beauty of the night before she wakes up and realizes that you’re gone.”

“Oh, she left a while ago,” he shrugged. “I’d just like to get back to sleep now. My head is pounding. There’s only so many hours left in the night and if I’m going to beat this hangover that’s surely on its way, I better get back to sleep,” he stated before placing his glass in the sink before moving to grab another bottle of something off a nearby shelf. “But, if you’re scared tonight,” he started, his gray eyes connecting with hers, “feel free to crawl into _my_ bed,” he suggested, ending it with a wink.

She rolled her eyes at him, a quiet “ew” passing her lips as he laughed and left the room. When he was gone, she turned to the sink and eyed his glass before placing her own next to his.

She sighed before turning to head back to the guest room she’d previously chosen. She should at least _try_ to get back to sleep. She had no hangover to avoid, but surely it would be easier to deal with this family after a full eight hours of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Please leave some love if you can -- I ALWAYS appreciate it! :)
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	10. Sharing the News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘Yeah…these people drew up a contract to take away my choice in marriage and starting a family tree. You think they’re going to let me help plan something like a party?’ ‘Something as simple and non-life changing as that? Sure,’ he groaned as he rolled over and away from her. ‘Besides, you probably won’t screw it up.’” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's it going everyone? Glad to see you back for another chapter! I hope you all enjoy this one, too.
> 
> Note, remember to check the day number at the beginning of each chapter because now we're starting to make some time jumps. As much as I'd like to write all 365 days of this contract, that's a little much.
> 
> Happy reading!

_Day Twelve_

Mon-El’s eyes fluttered open and he found himself face to face with Kara’s sparkling blue stare.

“Morning,” she smiled, her hand lifting and brushing the hair from his forehead.

He grinned back at her. “Morning,” he whispered, his voice scratchy with sleep.

“Sleep well?” she asked and he nodded against his pillow.

“Have you been up for long?” he asked her in return.

She nodded. “Just watching you…waiting for you to open your eyes.”

“Waiting? Why?”

“So I could do this…” she started, finishing her sentence with a kiss to his lips.

His nose knocked into hers as he tried to slide closer, his body barely a centimetre away from hers. Her hands moved to the waistband of his boxers; fingertips slipping beneath the fabric to tickle his skin, her caress following the jut of his hip bones. His hands tangled in her hair, tugging her mouth from his so that he could nip at her chin and down along her neck.

“Mon-El” she mumbled and he hummed back at her in response, his mouth still connected to her neck. “Mon-El,” she repeated more urgently and he pulled back to look at her.

“Mon-El!”

His eyes flew open and he found himself locking eyes with…Kara’s sparkling blue stare.

“Kara?” he mumbled confusedly as he blinked, her hand falling from his shoulder. Was he actually awake this time?

“Mon-El, you have to get up,” she said quietly.

“What? Why?”

“You’re late for breakfast and your parents want to discuss my Introduction,” she said, a look on her face that clearly said: _Please, don’t make me have that discussion with them alone_.

“Ten minutes,” he groaned sleepily before closing his eyes again. She nodded and stepped back.

“Okay, good. Thank you.”

“I’m pretty sure you could handle them yourself though,” he mumbled and she shook her head at him.

“I shouldn’t have to. They’re _your_ parents after all.”

“But they’re planning a party for _you_ …”

“Yeah…these people drew up a contract to take away my choice in marriage and starting a family tree. You think they’re going to let me help plan something like a party?”

“Something as simple and non-life changing as that? Sure,” he groaned as he rolled over and away from her. “Besides, you probably won’t screw it up.”

She sighed. “Just hurry, please.”

* * *

“Son, I see you’ve finally decided to join us,” Lar Gand stated as he came in from the next room and sat down at the table with the rest of the group.

“You seem to be the one who’s late, Father,” Mon-El shrugged.

“Your father and I have been here so long we could have had _two_ breakfasts in the time it took you to get down here,” Rhea added.

The servants walked out promptly, food quickly being placed in front of Kara and the family before they scurried away.

“Not like you haven’t eaten breakfast without me before. Now that _Kara_ is here, I’m required to attend all meals on time?” He glared at Kara as if she were making his life so much more difficult with every second that passed. She rolled her eyes before scowling in his direction.

“Today we’re going to discuss Princess Kara’s Introduction into Daxamite Society,” Rhea clarified.

“I heard,” Mon-El sighed. “I don’t see why _I_ need to be included in this.”

“Son, we’ll be telling everyone about _your_ engagement as well. You’re required to be there and therefore are required to be present for the discussion,” Rhea stated forcefully. “We can’t have you ruining things on the day of because you were unaware as to what was going to be happening.”

Mon-El stabbed at the food on his plate with a fork avoiding his mother’s eyes as she spoke. “Can we get on with it already then?”

Rhea cleared her throat and sat up rigidly straight. “We’re going to make The Announcement of the engagement from the balcony this afternoon--”

“This afternoon?” Kara interrupted. “Already?”

Rhea glared back at her. “This contract has been signed for twelve days already. That’s almost _two weeks_. We need to get things moving along, Princess. We can’t just sit here in this house pretending the contract isn’t underway. You do want your _Kryptonians_ to get here as soon as possible don’t you?”

Kara shrunk slightly in her seat. “Well, yeah, I guess so.”

“Then The Announcement happens this afternoon,” Rhea nodded curtly. “Princess, you will have a new dress that you’re to wear for the event. A servant will bring it to the dressing room for you now.” Kara watched her lift her hand in a shooing motion and she turned around just in time to see a female servant scurry away toward the staircase. “Please try it on as soon as we’re through here so that any adjustments that need to be made can be made in time.”

Kara turned back around and stared at the breakfast sitting on her plate before her eyes jumped to Mon-El. He was eating away, seemingly without a care in the world. She sighed.

“The Introduction event will happen Saturday night. It’ll be in the Great Hall beginning at seven o’clock in the evening. Another dress will be prepared for you for then. Son,” she stated firmly and his gaze drifted upwards to meet her slowly. “Your suit will be brought here by Winn. Please also make sure it fits.”

“You’re using my friends to do your dirty work now?” he scoffed.

“It came from his mother’s store, so yes, I asked him to bring it along with him today.”

“You’re making him come to The Announcement, too?”

“I can force him to stay away, if you’d prefer?” she threatened.

Mon-El shook his head in response.

“Good. If he’s on time, which he better be, he’ll be here within the hour. Now,” she started, “you’re both to remain quiet during The Announcement. Your father and I will address the crowd. Just stand there, smile and look _happy_ ,” she warned as she looked to Kara. “I don’t care if you’re happy or not, but you’re going to _look_ like you’re having the time of your life.” She nodded her head, encouraging Kara to do the same. “We’ve got to get the people to believe our races are coming together willingly or they’re not going to do the same, and your Kryptonians are going to be stuck on that disintegrating moon until they die there.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Okay, I get it. Happy. Smiling. Time of my life.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Lar Gand finally spoke from across the table. “Now, shall we all finish breakfast? We have a big afternoon ahead of us.”

Nobody said another word, not until everyone’s plates were clean and the front gate buzzed. Lar Gand moved to the communication device being brought toward him by a servant. He pressed the “answer” key and a hologram of Winn appeared before him.

“Ah, Mr. Schott, come right in. We were expecting you.” He ended the call before Winn could speak, but they soon heard the front door opening in the distance.

“I’m out,” Mon-El stated as he stood from his chair. He wiped his hands with his napkin before tossing it on top of his plate.

“The suit, Mon-El!” Rhea reminded him. “Try it on first.”

He waved a hand in her direction as he left the room.

“Princess Kara,” Lar Gand started and she looked over at him. “Please try on your dress as soon as you’re ready.”

“Now, preferably,” Rhea stated. “A dressing servant is in the dressing room upstairs waiting. She will assist you.”

Kara bit back another sigh as she stood from her own chair and moved to leave.

Lar Gand turned to Rhea. “I think this is going over rather well, don’t you?”

* * *

Kara finally made it to the dressing room (after asking whoever she could find along the way for directions) and sure enough, there was a young girl waiting there for her with a modest white dress draped on a headless mannequin in the centre of the room. She was a thin, tiny little thing who couldn’t possibly be older than Kara herself.

“Good morning,” she greeted the girl.

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Kara, please,” she sighed. “Just call me, Kara.”

The girl stared back at her in silence.

“Oh, right. You’ve all been told to call me Princess, but that’s ridiculous. Please,” she said again while walking right up to the girl. “When it’s just you and me, call me Kara.”

The girl nodded, but didn’t look like she was going to do as Kara had asked.

“What’s your name?” she asked instead.

“Arden,” the girl responded quietly.

“Arden. That’s a pretty name. Thank you for helping me, Arden. I know you must not enjoy the work these people give you.”

“But it’s part of my job, Princess.” Kara sighed at the familiar statement that seemed to come from all of the Royal Daxamites’ servants.

“I’m sorry they brought you here; took you away from your family and friends and the life you had before.”

“We all must do what we have to in order to survive,” she whispered, avoiding eye contact with Kara.

Kara felt her heart sink. Though their situations were largely different, she felt a kinship with the young girl already. They had both been trapped in this house with these people against their own will and now had to live with that.

“I guess I better try on that dress now, shouldn’t I?”

“Our Majesty Queen Rhea would prefer it,” she shared a small smile with Kara.

“Our Majesty Queen Rhea? _That’s_ what she makes you call her?” she cocked an eyebrow as she laughed lightly.

“We must,” Arden nodded surely.

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Kara groaned as she reached for the zipper on the dress to remove it from the mannequin and slip it on.

* * *

“Marriage?! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Winn laughed at his friend, hands clasped together and resting on the back of his head. “I thought this suit was for some other dreaded Royal Family event.”

They’d stood in Mon-El’s bedroom chatting about nothing for a long while before he finally told his friend about everything that had transpired in the last few days. While he tried on his suit, of course.

“I wish I was kidding, man,” Mon-El shook his own head before pulling his t-shirt back on and plopping himself down on the edge of his bed.

“Why would you put up with that?” Winn asked as he followed suit, sitting down across from him on the lounge chair in the room.

“Apparently I didn’t have a choice. Our parents went and drew up the contract and signed it without us.”

“Weird…I don’t know why they’d want the Kryptonians here anyway,” he shrugged.

“Look around, Winn. This planet is going to shit. Theirs is dying. They think the Kryptonians can come here and fix our planet in exchange for being allowed to keep living here.”

“So you have to marry this girl in order to make that happen?”

“It’s supposed to be a symbol of peace between our people or something.”

“Well, how’s the girl?”

“More trouble than she’s worth.”

“Aren’t most women?” Winn chuckled loudly.

“Dude, not only won’t she have sex with me, she _literally_ won’t even _sleep_ with me! She sleeps alone in my closet,” he nodded in the direction of Kara’s bedroom.

“Well, it sounds like she doesn’t care that you’re the Prince. Unlike every other woman on this planet.”

“Well, no, because she’s a Princess on her own planet. My status means nothing to her.”

Winn shrugged again. “Maybe she just doesn’t find you attractive. Like at all. You know, there are some people in this universe who actually have _taste_ ,” he laughed.

“But, I mean, don’t get me wrong. She’s hot.”

“Okay, but how hot?”

He smirked. “She’s really hot. And I drive her nuts and I’m pretty sure she hates me, and that makes her even hotter.” Winn laughed again. “I mean, since she first came here, I’ve been having these dreams about her. Not just dreams, but… _dreams_ ,” he wiggled his eyebrows at his fiend. “If you get what I’m saying.”

Winn smirked back and nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Well, let’s just say that if she’s anything like _that_ …I mean, she’s pretty quiet; timid almost. But those are the ones you gotta watch out for.”

“Well, you’re gonna be stuck with each other forever, so let’s hope for your sanity that she’s as good as your imagination makes her out to be.”

“Nah,” Mon-El shook his head and Winn eyed him strangely. “She’s not going to give it up.”

“From what you told me, it sounds like it’s in the contract that she has to?”

“Yeah, well, she’s pretty adamant that she’s not going to,” Mon-El shrugged. “It’s gonna be harder to convince her than my usual targets, but I like a challenge,” he grinned.

Winn shrugged back. “She could just be nervous about it. Maybe she’s a virgin.”

Mon-El groaned loudly, his eyes slipping shut as he fell onto his back on the bed. “Don’t say that!”

Winn furrowed his eyebrows, though his friend couldn’t see him. “What? Why not? Would that be so bad?”

Mon-El shook his head forcefully against the mattress. “No, Winn, come on, man,” he stated before sitting back upright. “A _virgin_? They’re so _easy_ ,” he groaned. “You barely have to touch them and they just fall apart in your hands.”

“So, it would be good then?”

“ _So_ good!” he assured his friend. “They’re so eager and willing to please,” he sighed heavily and Winn eyed him strangely.

“But…?”

“But, Kara,” he shook his head again. “She’s not a virgin. She’s just a Kryptonian prude. She’s not _not_ sleeping with me because she’s nervous or she doesn’t know what she’s doing or anything. She knows _exactly_ what she’s doing. She thinks she’s better than me. She acts as if she’s smarter than me; worldlier than we are. For all we know, she got around on her own planet as much, if not more, than me.”

“So, you’ve asked her about it then?”

“Well…no. I mean, I said we should sleep together; it’s in the contract. She said she’s never sleeping with me. And here I am: stuck dreaming about her making out with me and about being inside her, while in reality, she’s over there turning up her nose at me.”

“Well, I assume challenge accepted?” Winn nodded as he asked 

“Obviously,” he rolled his eyes at him. “Just think about how good it will be when I break her down and get her in bed.”

They both laughed until they heard a quiet knock on the open bedroom door. Both sets of eyes flicked toward the doorway.

Their eyes landed on Kara, Winn’s widening into saucers, Mon-El’s sliding into little slits.

“What do you want now?” Mon-El asked.

“I just wanted to get something from my room while my dress is being altered. I felt like I’d be interrupting if I just walked in,” she said quietly.

She looked to Winn who had since composed himself, masking his surprise with a charming smile.

Mon-El nodded at Winn. “Kara, this is Winn. Winn…this is my fiancée, or as I’m required to call her, Princess Kara,” he bowed obnoxiously in her direction.

“Just Kara, please,” she glared at Mon-El before looking over at Winn with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Winn. I didn’t believe that Mon-El had any friends…”

“Nah,” he sighed. “Friend. Just me. I’m the only one who can stand him,” he said as he slapped a hand on Mon-El’s back. “Besides, I’m sure he never even mentioned me,” he stated, knowing his friend all too well.

“Nope, not a word,” she agreed with a smile. “Not that we talk much anyway.”

The three of them stood there for a minute, the boys staring at Kara, Kara’s eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.

“Well…” Mon-El started. “You had something to pick up.”

Kara nodded. “Right. I just wanted something to do while I got my hair and makeup done. One second and I’ll leave you two alone.”

She quickly moved toward her room before disappearing inside. Winn eyed Mon-El, a stunned expression appearing on his face briefly before they heard Kara coming back out. She had a toiletries bag in one hand and a large book in the other, a bookmark clearly placed midway through the hardcover.

“Getting a lot of reading done I see,” Mon-El smirked.

“Anything so that I won’t have to spend time with you,” she smiled a fake, sarcastic smile back at him before leaving the room with a small nod at Winn.

When she was out of earshot, Winn looked back at Mon-El.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“See? Tell me how _that_ hasn’t gotten any?”

“Okay, so she’s likely not a virgin. Maybe she’s just stuck up and you’re somewhat of an asshole, so she’s not interested?”

Mon-El blinked back at him. “They’re never _not_ interested…”

“There’s a first time for everything, bud,” he sighed with a comforting pat to the shoulder before he laughed. “Anyway, I gotta head out. I need to get ready for _The Announcement_ ,” he exaggerated by waving his hands in the air. “But I’ll see you again on Friday at the Introduction party?”

Mon-El shrugged. “Nowhere else I’m allowed to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you have the time! I read, appreciate, and reply to every single one!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	11. The Announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Her head was spinning. If this situation hadn’t felt real enough over the last few days, it definitely felt real now. They were telling people. It wasn’t a secret anymore. This was really happening and she was stuck here unable to do anything about it.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all,
> 
> Sorry it took a while for this one! It's been a busy few weeks personally and work-wise. Thanks for being patient!
> 
> As an add on for this chapter, I posted a couple of pictures a few days ago that inspired Kara's dress in this chapter. Check out my Twitter page, but for those of you without Twitter or who don't actually wish to follow (no hard feelings ;) ) I also try to stick to using the same hashtag on Twitter for updates, sneak peeks and pictures. So if you search #ContractuallyYours, you'll get to keep up with things!
> 
> Enjoy!

_Day Twelve (Continued)_

Kara sat at a vanity table in the dressing room, clad in the new white gown Mon-El’s parents had forced her to wear. Although, after slipping it on her body, she had to admit that it was beautiful. It was a form fitting, soft material that hugged her curves in all the right places. It had three-quarter length sleeves with covered buttons trailing down her arm, a slight scoop neckline and a smooth skirt. She’d fallen in love with it within mere seconds of having it on.

Now she sat at the vanity, reading the novel she’d picked up from her room while Arden finished curling her hair.

_“Curl my hair? Why?” Kara had asked with raised eyebrows. “What’s wrong with my hair?”_

_“I like your hair,” Arden insisted. “But Our Majesty Queen Rhea wants it curled for The Announcement.”_

_Kara huffed. “Well, I’m all about what ‘The Queen’ wants.” She plopped herself down at the vanity next to a heated hair curler. She eyed the curler. “I’m not very good at doing it though. Usually I get Alex to do it for me when it’s needed for special occasions on my planet.”_

_“Oh no, Pr…Kara. I’ll be doing it. It’s what I’m trained for.”_

_“You were trained to curl hair? In a family who has a son?”_

_“I do it for the Queen nearly daily.”_

_Kara couldn’t even pretend to be surprised._

Kara looked in the mirror, using it to glance at Arden who caught her before she could look away.

“Alex…who you mentioned before…is that a friend from Krypton?” Arden asked curiously.

Kara brightened at the mention of Alex. “She is,” she grinned. “She’s my best friend. We did everything together…that is until I came here. We’re so close, we might as well be family.”

“That’s nice,” Arden nodded. “Will she be at The Announcement this afternoon? I would like to meet her if that’s acceptable.”

“Of course! But I doubt it,” Kara shook her head. “She’s going to come for the party Friday though. Well, at least I hope she is. Rhea would invite her right? I mean, my parents, too…people from my planet?”

Arden smiled sadly. “I’m not sure. She doesn’t often think of others.”

“Yeah,” Kara scoffed. “I get that impression.”

* * *

Mon-El stood in front of the full length mirror in his bedroom as he attempted to tie his necktie. He was never all that great at these kinds of things; the formal events, the Royal attire, tying ties. He’d choose a t-shirt and denim over robes, jackets and slacks any day. He only had a few minutes to twelve o’clock and surely his mother would any minute come storming in the room demanding that he get his ass in gear in time for the scheduled Announcement.

There was a knock on his bedroom door and he turned quickly, startled enough by the sound that he dropped the end of the tie and lost his place. He cursed under his breath.

“ _What_?”

“My apologies, my Prince,” Arden bowed in the doorway. “Your mother has sent me to ensure that you’re prepared for The Announcement. Princess Kara is ready and waiting for you.”

“Well, she can wait a little longer, can’t she?” 

Arden remained silent, assuming it was a rhetorical question.

Mon-El sighed heavily. “Can you just tie this for me? I can’t figure it out.”

“Certainly, my Prince,” she said as she bowed again and made her way over to him. She reached for the ends of the black tie and proceeded to get it into a perfectly arranged knot at the base of his neck.

“Arden,” Kara’s voice called out as she walked into the room, eyes focused on something in her hand, “I can’t get this clip to stay in my hair, can you--”

She paused, finally looking up as Arden was patting at the tie now secured around Mon-El’s neck.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t know you were still getting ready,” she told Mon-El.

He just stared back at her; his eyes sliding up and down her body, drinking in her appearance boldly. She took his breath away. Not that Kara noticed though, her own eyes skimming his form. She was taken aback at how charming he looked in his perfectly tailored black suit; a simple black jacket with a slim fit.

“Kara…hi,” he stated quietly, his posture straightening as he used his hands to pat down the creases in his suit even though there weren’t any. “Are you ready?” he asked as he gulped, wishing his mouth hadn’t gone so dry so fast.

“I, uh…” she held up the clip in her hand. “I can’t get this to stay in my hair,” she stated to him before her eyes finally drifted over to Arden still standing in the room. “Arden?”

“Certainly, Princess,” she smiled as she took the clip from her hand and moved to stand behind her. She pulled the sides of her hair toward the back, pinning the two pieces together to flow down the centre. “All set,” she said quietly as she backed away. “Shall I tell the King and Queen we are ready?”

Kara looked to Mon-El and he coughed lightly to clear his throat. “Yes, please do.”

Arden left and Mon-El took a step closer to Kara. “Shall we?” he grinned charmingly as he held out his arm for her to take.

She looked down at his offered arm and took a step back. “I can walk myself there, thank you,” she stated before turning around and heading through the doorway. He smirked behind her before following her. That dress fit in _all_ the right places. At least he’d get to watch her walk there.

* * *

“Do you two realize that it’s 12:03pm?” Rhea’s voice echoed in the foyer attached to the balcony.

“And I’m sure the crowd outside barely noticed,” Mon-El said as he and Kara entered the room. “They’re just happy they get a view of this _beautiful event_ ,” he continued, sarcasm lacing every word.

“Princess, on the Prince’s left side. You will enter last, Lar Gand will be first. Stay in line and don’t say a word,” Rhea instructed, her hands straightening out her dress while Lar Gand moved to adjust his collar and tie. “The doors open, we walk out, we’ll make The Announcement. You’re going to wave, smile, look deeply in love and then we’ll come back inside.”

“Yeah, I know how this works,” Kara huffed. “We made announcements from our balcony on Krypton, too. You’re not the first ones to think of the idea…”

“Keep your opinions to yourself, Princess. We’ve no time for them,” Rhea scowled as she tugged at Mon-El’s arm, pulling him closer in line as they moved toward the door. “Keep up,” she instructed the both of them.

A set of servants stood at the sides of the two glass doors and they tugged away the curtains and swung open the doors allowing the Royal Family to step out onto the balcony. The crowd below cheered and clapped in excitement; anticipation over today’s Announcement clear on their faces. They had advised their people that there would be an announcement, but nobody was informed as to what _kind_ of announcement.

They stopped at the edge of the balcony, Lar Gand’s and Rhea’s hands landing on the railing in front of them.

“Good afternoon, citizens!” Lar Gand started. “As you are aware, we have a special announcement to make to you all today.” He turned to Rhea. “I’ll let our Queen take over for the joyous news!”

Rhea looped her arm into the crook of Lar Gand’s, leaning on him gently as a cheerful smile spread across her face. Kara rolled her eyes as she stood there before looking down at the crowd below.

“I’m sure you’re all eager to hear the news, and we’re eager to finally share it,” she began. “You may be wondering why we have an additional member in our party today,” she said as she held up a hand and gestured toward Kara. “And the reason why this young woman is standing with us is because she is going to be the newest addition to our Royal Family.” She paused and waited; watched as confusion appeared on many of the faces in the crowd. “For you see, our Prince and this young woman are going to be married!”

Various members of the crowd below cheered, some of the women gasping in shock, hands rushing to their hearts as they took in the news. Kara recognized Winn standing in the distance; his hands clapping a smooth, non-excited clap that indicated that this announcement was of no surprise to him. Nobody around him seemed to notice.

Lar Gand raised his hands to quiet the crowd. “That isn’t all,” he assured them.

Rhea started up again. “This woman, by the name of Kara Zor-El, is not just our future daughter-in-law, but we must also inform you that she is in fact… _Kryptonian_.”

Kara’s eyes widened as she watched the shock appear on the faces of the crowd, a low-level mumbling filling the space as the citizens whispered back and forth with each other.

“Now, just hold on a minute while we explain what this means for us!” Lar Gand shouted over the mumbling and the people quickly simmered down. “Normally, we would be completely opposed to this relationship, and had we known about it early on, we would have swiftly put an end to it.”

Kara looked over at her future father-in-law; watched how easily the lies slipped out of his mouth. Well, partial lies at least. She had no doubt that they would have never otherwise accepted a relationship between their son and a Kryptonian if not for the contract that was in place to benefit them.

Rhea looked over at Kara with a smile that she knew was obviously fake and plastered on exclusively for the crowd. “We’ve watched our son with her and we realize how in love they both are with each other. However,” she turned back to the crowd. “This is an interesting situation because not only is Kara a Kryptonian, but she is the Kryptonian _Princess_. The only daughter of the Kryptonian Royal Family.”

The mumbling started up again, louder this time, and Kara was just ready for them to get the whole damn story out and over with so that she could go back inside and get away from the scrutiny of their people.

“As such,” Lar Gand cut in, “we’ve had various discussions with the Royal Family of Krypton and we understand that they’re in an unfortunate situation--”

“Of their own doing!” a male voice shouted from the crowd.

“That’s not for us to judge!” Lar Gand shouted back in response. “They are not going to be able to live on their planet safely for much longer. So we’ve proposed an agreement…a contract of sorts that will be fulfilled by both us and them. You see, our children are in love and they’re going to be together. That’s not going to change. But what _is_ going to change, is how we treat one another.”

Lar Gand and Rhea both continued on explaining the contract to the crowd, but Kara didn’t hear a word. Her head was spinning. If this situation hadn’t felt real enough over the last few days, it _definitely_ felt real now. They were _telling_ people. It wasn’t a secret anymore. This was really happening and she was stuck here unable to do anything about it. She stared out at the faces in the crowd; all nameless to her, and yet already angry with her. Angry that she was Kryptonian. Angry that she was here on their planet. Angry that she had taken the Prince away from these women before they could. Her stomach was in knots and she could feel her teeth clenching, molars grinding together uncomfortably.

Mon-El leaned in toward her, his lips mere centimetres from her ear. “Remember to smile, Kara,” he instructed at a whisper and she released the grimace that was most likely clear on her face, lips twisting into somewhat of a smile.

His lips pressed against her cheek in a kiss and it made her shiver. She liked to think that it was because he had touched her (and it was), but she told herself that it was because it grossed her out; fiercely ignoring the way that it really made her stomach flutter with nerves. He reached down and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together with little effort and she almost pulled her hand right back; the feeling of his hand grasping hers almost nerve wracking. He looked directly at her with this huge smile on his face and her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she tried to figure out if he was just a really good actor or if he was actually pleased with all of this.

And then he was lifting their laced hands in the air and the crowd below them was cheering and then she was being tugged off the balcony by their joined hands and back into the foyer. She heard the balcony doors swing shut behind her, the curtains sliding closed again, and Mon-El shook off her hand. Kara watched as he tugged at his tie, already loosening the knot and shrugging the jacket from his shoulders. She looked up at his parents who stared back at her in a way that made her want to shrink in on herself.

“That could have gone better,” Rhea spoke first.

“What more could you want?” Mon-El asked angrily. “You made your announcement. You prevented a riot over allowing your son to fall in love with a Kryptonian. I think we did quite well.”

And then he stormed away.

Kara watched him leave before her eyes flicked to his parents again. When they didn’t say anything further to her, she decided to take leave of them before they told her she was required to do some other just as awful thing as that announcement was.

When she made it back to Mon-El’s room, he was already half undressed; moving around the room shirtless. She averted her eyes as she moved toward her own room, intent on taking off the formal dress and putting on something more comfortable. She tried her best to avoid looking at him in his shirtless state, but she had to admit…he was pretty well built. Her eyes were trained on the rippling muscles of his back when he’d cursed under his breath.

“Ah, shit. Kara!” he called out loudly before spinning around, jumping slightly when he noticed she was already standing in the room. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t know you were right there.”

“I wasn’t watching you change!” she suddenly shouted awkwardly. She furrowed her eyebrows for a minute, confused at her own outburst and he looked at her with a similar set of furrowed eyebrows.

He shook his head to brush off her comment before looking down at the object in his hand. A little box. He opened it up.

“My mother would kill me if she found out that I forgot to give you this before the announcement.” He opened up the box and Kara saw a thin silver band sitting inside, sparkling softly in the light of the room. That’s when it hit her.

That was an engagement ring.

_Her_ engagement ring.

She watched as he pulled it from the case and then it was flying at her; thrown by him across the room and she reached out just in time, fumbling slightly as the ring bounced between her hands as she tried to gain control of it.

She held it up between her pointer finger and thumb as she looked down at it. It was a plain band, solid silver colour throughout. No diamonds, no gems, nothing fancy or unique about it. Just a solid silver band.

“My engagement ring…”

“Your engagement ring,” he repeated. She looked up at him and that’s when she noticed for the first time that he was already wearing a silver band on his left hand.

“It’s identical to yours?” she asked as she looked down at the ring between her fingers again.

“Silver as per the contract,” he nodded as he watched her.

“I don’t even get to pick my own ring?” she asked.

“Who do you think picked it out? Because I can assure you that it _wasn’t_ me.”

“I’ll be stuck wearing this ugly thing forever,” she sighed.

“You don’t like it?” he questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

“I don’t like the fact that I have to wear a ring in the first place.”

“We have to switch them to gold courtship rings after the wedding, remember? You can choose what you want then.”

“If this whole thing even lasts that long…” she trailed off as she slipped the ring onto her own finger.

He crossed his arms across his still naked chest. “Oh, so you’ve finally decided to go out and find someone to have sex with.”

She glared at him. “There are other ways to break this contract,” she said simply as she moved toward her bedroom.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he followed her. “Well, I highly doubt that you have the stomach to find a way to kill me in a ‘non-suspicious’ manner. So, let me guess…you’re gonna abstain from sex for a year…so that you don’t get pregnant and thereby don’t produce an heir?”

Kara nodded as she kicked off her shoes toward her clothing rack. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Brave,” he nodded.

“Excuse me?” she asked as she turned around to face him again.

“A year is a damn long time, Kara. Good luck keeping your panties on for that long,” he laughed.

“You’re disgusting,” she stated. “Now, get out so I can change.”

“Haven’t you heard?” he asked as he leaned against the doorframe of her room. “We’re madly in love and our parents can’t keep us apart. Surely, you’re not too shy to strip naked in front of me…your _lover_.”

Kara stomped toward him, her hands both landing squarely on his chest before she shoved him backward. He laughed as he stumbled back into his own room and she slammed the door. She leaned her back against the wood as she sighed heavily.

This was going to be a _long_ year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos or a comment if you can!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	12. The Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kara couldn’t decide if she wanted to beg the day to move faster or slower; faster so that she could just get it over with, or slower to try to put off the inevitable for a little while longer. In a few hours it would be time for the party. Her Introduction Party.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, everyone. Time for another chapter! I was actually stuck on this one for MONTHS. It was my first REAL case of writer's block with this fic. Thankfully, most of the rest of it has been a lot easier. I hope you enjoy it, because it definitely wasn't easy to get through this one for some reason.
> 
> Also, check the #ContractuallyYours tag on Twitter for photos - this chapter has another dress, and therefore another photo.

_Day Fourteen_

Kara couldn’t decide if she wanted to beg the day to move faster or slower; faster so that she could just get it over with, or slower to try to put off the inevitable for a little while longer.

In a few hours it would be time for the party.

_Her Introduction Party_.

Tonight was her Introduction into Daxamite society. It was a party to show her off to the community…which was really only a poor attempt at trying to hide the fact that this was Daxamite Society and they wanted any excuse to have a celebration filled with dancing and eventual hooking up.

At least that was what Mon-El had told her.

She stared at the dress resting on the mannequin. Well, it wasn’t really resting. Its skirt was so poufy that it looked like it had swallowed the poor headless mannequin whole.

Rhea had said to them both yesterday at breakfast: _“Mon-El, you can wear the suit from The Announcement, but you_ must _get a new tie. We’ll be adding a buttoned vest to your ensemble as well. Kara, we’ll get you another gown for the occasion.”_

_Another gown_? She couldn’t exactly be sure that this wasn’t the _actual_ wedding dress. Off the shoulder sleeves, tight corset bodice, flower detailing across the chest, abdomen and trailing down the fluffy skirt at all angles. She thought that this gown was pretty over the top considering that she was already betrothed to Mon-El. She didn’t even fully understand why they were introducing her to anybody in the first place. Weren’t these things usually used as a way to show her off to all the respectable families in the town in order to _find_ a mate?

She had a mate (not that she wanted one). Couldn’t she just sit at home and wallow in self-pity without having to put on fake smiles for the rest of society?

“Kara,” Arden whispered as she walked into the dressing room and closed the door behind her. She had been calling Kara by her first name, but she was still really unsure about doing so in the Royal Palace.

“Good evening, Arden,” Kara smiled as she turned to the servant.

“Are we ready to get dressed?” she asked as she stepped toward the dress. “My…this is a lovely gown.”

“It’s a little much, don’t you think?” she cringed as she moved to stand next to her.

Arden shook her head. “No, I think you’re going to be absolutely beautiful in it.”

Kara smiled again. “Thank you, Arden, but I just think it’s going to be a really long, uncomfortable night.”

“Surely Prince Mon-El will be impressed.”

Kara felt her heart jump inside her chest. “Mon-El?” She heard her voice crack and she coughed lightly. “Why would he be impressed?”

“By your beauty,” she turned to face Kara as she said it, tone insinuating that that fact should be obvious. “It’s hard enough for him to keep his eyes away from you every day. Now you’ll be even more stunning in this beautiful dress tonight.” Arden grinned. “He won’t know how to behave himself.”

Kara blinked at the young girl. “I didn’t think he paid much attention to me.”

Arden shook her head. “This is his way.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t want you to think he’s interested in you. He’s playing hard to get because you’re Kryptonian.” She unzipped the gown from the mannequin and signalled for Kara to undress. “You see, Daxamites are _very_ easy to get,” she snickered. “Thousands and thousands of female and perhaps some male Daxamites’ dreams have been crushed with the announcement that the Prince has been taken off the market. They were all ready to jump into his arms and his bed the second he asked.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Thousands?”

Arden nodded profusely. “Thousands,” she confirmed. “But you, Kara, you’re not one of those thousands. You’re different. You pose a challenge to the Prince that he’s unsure how to handle. You knock him off his game. He’s attracted to you, but you don’t give him the time of day,” she laughed.

“He’s attracted to me?” Kara asked with raised eyebrows as she set aside the rest of her clothing, standing in the middle of the room in her undergarments.

“Mhm,” Arden hummed as she crouched down with the dress, making room for Kara to step into it.

“How can you tell?” she asked as she moved to get into the pile of material. Arden pulled it upwards.

“Nobody notices me here,” she sighed. “Nobody in this family looks at me, or has a conversation with me, or appreciates me. Except for you, Kara. You’re the only one who sees me. Because of that, I get to see everything without people even realizing it.” She stepped around Kara to zip the dress up along her back. “I see how the Prince looks at you when he thinks you’re not looking. He checks to see if you look at him this way, too and you don’t. I can see it drives him crazy.”

Kara’s heart was pounding in her chest. Of course, Mon-El was attractive, but he was rude and so standoffish. How was she to believe that he was _actually_ interested in her? And why was her heart pounding so fast? _She_ wasn’t interested in _him_.

Was she?

Kara shook her head at Arden as she came to stand in front of her again. “Just because someone is attracted to someone else, doesn’t mean that they actually want to _be_ with them. Sex and a relationship are two very different things.”

“I understand that,” Arden nodded. “I’m not sure the Prince understands that.”

Kara crinkled her eyebrows at her. “What’d you mean?”

“Prince Mon-El doesn’t have relationships. He has sex. That’s it.”

“You mean he’s never had a…a girlfriend?’

“Never. No need for one.”

“Oh, great,” Kara sighed as she turned to take in her appearance in the mirror at the side of the room. “I get to be the test drive.”

Arden was quiet for a while as she moved to set up the beauty supplies at the vanity. She glanced up at Kara who was spinning in front of the reflective glass.

“I think you can be good for him,” she said quietly and Kara stopped spinning.

“What?”

“You…you’re a good person. You’re smart. You’re kind. Your soul is good. The Prince…” she hesitated for a moment before her voice quieted to a whisper. “The Prince was not raised well. He doesn’t know better. You can teach him to be kind; to be better.”

Kara stepped toward the vanity before taking a seat. “I don’t think I’m up for _that_ challenge.”

“You’ll have a lifetime to work at it,” Arden smirked and Kara quickly turned to her with her jaw dropped open.

“Ouch, thanks for reminding me,” she scoffed and Arden giggled.

“I don’t mean to be selfish, but I’m glad you’re stuck here, too.”

Kara looked up at the girl; a sadness in her eyes she was unable to hide. “I think we’re going to get along well, Arden,” she said softly as she reached for the girl’s hand, holding it in her own briefly and Arden nodded at her.

“I think so, too. Now, we must hurry to get you ready for the party,” Arden stated as she moved to grab at the makeup bag on the vanity.

* * *

Mon-El stood in his bedroom in front of the mirror again, his fingers twisting incorrectly while trying to get the damn bowtie tied on himself.

“I swear to Rao, I’m going to burn all the damn ties on this planet,” he muttered as he snapped the thing off his neck in anger. He eyed the fabric in his hands before deciding to see if he could find someone to tie it for him. He checked the time and guessed that Kara would still be getting ready for the party tonight with the assistance of her dresser in the dressing room. He might as well hurry up and get over there. He was already running late.

By the time he made it to the room, he found it empty. He stood in the middle of it and sighed. It looked like he was on his own. He stepped up to the mirror in the room, set on trying to get his tie done properly again on his own when he heard someone entering behind him.

He looked up and saw Kara walking toward him. She already wore her gown for the party tonight and it was extravagant to say the least. The skin of her neck and shoulders were delightfully bare, her hair up in a loose, yet styled bun, her breasts cupped tightly in soft fabric decorated with little petals. The skirt was fluffy and long; hanging down past her ankles, puffed out so wide you probably could have fit another person inside the skirt with her. A pristine white colour; perfect and untouched.

“Hi,” she said, shaking him out of his stupor.

He was at a loss for words. Was this going to happen to him with every new dress? She was practically glowing; radiating beauty and warmth and he didn’t understand how a single person could make his stomach flip inside of him the way she did by only saying a single syllable.

“Did…did you need something?” she continued when he didn’t speak.

When he finally found his voice, “Where’s your dressing servant?”

Kara furrowed her eyebrows at him. “Arden?”

“What?” he asked confused.

“Arden,” she repeated. “Her name is Arden.”

“We don’t call them by their names,” he told her.

“Why not?”

He paused. “Because we don’t need to.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

He was silent again for a moment.

Kara watched him. His eyes slid down and back up her body again and she thought back to what Arden had said merely a couple of hours ago.

_“You knock him off his game. He’s attracted to you, but you don’t give him the time of day.”_

She heard him clear his throat. “Are you trying on wedding dresses?” he chuckled lightly. He almost sounded nervous.

“I knew this dress was too much,” she sighed, her hands straightening out the small creases in the skirt. “What was your mother thinking?”

“That she likes drawing attention to the family whenever she can.”

“What do you need Arden for?” she finally asked, reminding him of why he was here.

“I need my bowtie tied.”

Kara stared at him and he stared back. “You’re searching out the mansion for a girl to tie your tie for you?”

He was silent as he continued to stare, and then he nodded.

“You never learned to tie a tie?”

“Why would I need to?” he asked.

“You have these kinds of events all the time. Surely you should have learned by now.”

“If servants are constantly wandering the halls, why should I bother?”

Kara rolled her eyes at him before taking the fabric from his hands. She stepped close to him, the end of her skirt pressing against his form as she looped the black strand around his neck.

He took in a deep breath before hardening his posture. Did she really have to stand that close to him? He could smell her scent so easily now; not perfume, just _her_. Just _Kara_. It was intoxicating.

“Since when do you know how to tie a bowtie?” he choked out.

“It’s really not that hard,” she said simply, ignoring his question. She finished the tie, stepping back a bit to look at him. She quickly stepped forward again, straightening the tie a little more before stepping back again.

“Done?” he asked as he watched her.

She nodded with a small smile. “Sorry, yeah. You’re good.”

“We should go,” he said. “The guests will be arriving shortly and we better be in the Great Hall before they do.”

Kara nodded before following him out.

At least she could look forward to seeing her parents and Alex again tonight. She knew the invitation had been extended. She just hoped they had the time to make it over here.

* * *

Kara stood at the top of the staircase, hidden behind the curtain on a landing above the Great Hall.

Staircase.

_Inside_ the Hall.

Who needs a room with an entire staircase inside of it?

She could hear the murmuring of voices below her; only the highest of class rank likely strolling through the room in celebration; soft background music playing, drinks in people’s hands as they waited for her arrival.

Mon-El was already inside, he having entered with his family a few minutes earlier. She was supposed to wait for and pay special attention to the signal before she could pass through the curtains and move down the stairs. The signal was the music being silenced and her name being called out over the loudspeaker. How they expected her to manage to miss _that_ signal, she didn’t know.

_“They’ll announce your name and you’ll come through the curtain and down the stairs to join Mon-El at the bottom. He will escort you to the centre of the dance floor. You’ll separate. Face the crowd, curtsy and then you’ll dance,” Rhea instructed._

_“Dance?” Kara questioned._

_“Formal. In hold around the dance floor,” Rhea continued._

_“Surely you’ve danced before, Princess…” Mon-El laughed._

_Kara scoffed. “Obviously. Just…we haven’t rehearsed. This dress is a little…large. I haven’t practiced moving like that while wearing it. I don’t want to trip or something.”_

_“You will_ not _trip,” Rhea stated firmly. “You will_ not _embarrass this family.”_

_“Will my parents be here? And Alex?” she asked suddenly at the mention of family._

_“The invitation was given,” Lar Gand stated. “We’ve not yet heard back, but we’ve reserved space for them at the Kryptonian Family Table.”_

She looked down at her gown, hands pressing the fabric to settle the fluffiness of the skirt. She felt like a Princess. That was for sure, but she’d rid herself of that feeling in a heartbeat if it meant that she could get out of this whole mess. She bounced back and forth on her feet; ball to heel, ball to heel, as she waited for her name to be announced.

She wondered if her parents were down there. If Alex had come, too. She really hoped they had. They were the only ones she would be happy to see tonight. Besides, the empty Kryptonian Family Table would be a really depressing sight to stare at all evening.

She heard the crackling of the loudspeaker as it clicked on, the orchestra fading, and a male voice echoed in the Hall below.

“Now presenting Prince Mon-El’s betrothed: Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton.”

She took a deep breath before sliding her hands into the opening between the two curtains, pushing them aside enough so that she could walk through. They must have run out of servants for the night if she had to open her own curtain.

She stepped past the fabric barrier and onto the top landing of the staircase. She looked down at the people below, a loud whooshing in her ears; half of it from the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her chest, the other half from the noise of the people below; gasps, praise, clapping, cheering. If it weren’t for the situation she was in, their attention might have been flattering.

She began to slowly descend the stairs and that’s when she spotted Mon-El at the bottom waiting for her; a hand at his back, the other splayed across his abdomen. He looked up at her with a bright smile on his face; toothy and charming. He obviously had a lot of practice at faking it because she was sure that she was grimacing with every step she took as she moved down the stairs. She wasn’t sure that she could manage to fake it in front of this many people for too long.

When she made it to the bottom, Mon-El extended his hand for her. She slipped her hand into his with her own fake smile and he led her to the middle of the Hall, as previously instructed by his mother. They separated and he backed up a step away from her before turning around. She spun as well and she found herself face to face with her parents. She felt her breath catch in her throat and she stumbled a little on her feet. Tears started to prick at her eyes, but she was somehow able to remember to curtsy to the crowd as instructed, her eyes locked on her mother’s.

Music began to play again and it shook Kara back to reality. She turned back around and Mon-El looked at her, his arms open and held up in formation, ready for her to step into his hold. She rolled her eyes at his exaggeratedly happy features as she walked the final steps back toward him. She placed one hand on his shoulder, the other in his waiting and extended one.

“Princess,” he greeted when she finally joined him in hold.

“ _Kara_ ,” she growled.

“My apologies,” he smiled. “Princess _Kara_.” She huffed at him in response. He knew she hated being called Princess on this planet. These Royal Daxamites spoke of their titles in a way that was demeaning to the people they led when they referred to themselves, and they somehow made it feel demeaning toward her when they referred to her in that way.

Nonetheless, she began to move along the ballroom floor; both members of a different race who easily fell in matching step with one another.

Well, at least, it seemed that way to everyone around them, but they were _anything_ but on the same page.

“Can you please stop stepping on my toes?” Kara whined.

“Stop putting your feet in the wrong places. You’re twenty-five and Royalty. How have you not learned to dance properly while in hold?” he growled back at her.

“I _am_ dancing properly in hold. Maybe you should practice dancing in a way that doesn’t involve you _grinding_ your lower half against a woman.”

“Oh, Kara, if you only knew how good I was at _that_ , you would be wishing that we were doing that right now instead of asking me about practicing dancing any other way…”

“Ew, gross,” she whined again as the song began to slow toward an ending.

He leaned into her, his mouth at her ear. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew how good I was at it.” He whispered before kissing her cheek and leaning back with a wink. He spun her around smoothly before extending his arm in a final pose as the music stopped.

The crowd began to cheer and clap as he bowed to them. Kara clumsily curtsied after he bowed, missing his cue.

“In sync, Kara,” he said through a clenched-teeth smile. “We’re madly in love, remember? Try again,” he urged.

She had to hold back another eye roll and cringe as she watched his form bend again, timing her curtsy with him.

“That’s it,” he praised quietly and she squeezed his hand in hers as hard as she could in response, her nails digging into the skin of his palm. “Ack,” he exclaimed, not loud enough to be heard over the cheering and applause, but he tugged her toward him, removing his hand from hers and pushing her to stand in front of him; his hands on her waist and hers nicely clasped in front of her. “Feisty,” he whispered into her ear and she took a step back, her fluffy skirt pressing tightly into his lower half as she backed up and dug her pointed heel into his toe. “Shit, Kara, relax,” he said as he let go of her waist, hands shoving her forward enough to get her off of him without drawing attention. The cheering died down and a new song began.

Kara looked up then and her eyes connected with Alex’s as she stood right in front of her; the girl waving happily at her friend as she walked toward her. Kara easily slipped away from Mon-El and moved toward her.

“What _is_ this?” Alex whispered as she met Kara while the rest of the crowd continued on with their conversations with those around them; the introduction portion of the event seemingly through with.

“Help me,” she whispered to Alex.

“This is amazing,” she said, astonished.

“This is so _not_ amazing, Alex. This is awful. Can you believe this party? Atrocious!”

Alex laughed. “Relax, Kara. It’s actually kind of nice. My parents couldn’t come along with me, but your parents and I are at the Kryptonian Family Table and people are being nice to us. They’re respectful and kind of excited to see us here. It’s cool.”

“Says the one who’s not being forced into marriage here…”

“Okay, one downside.”

“A _lot_ of downsides, I will have you know,” Kara whispered sharply.

“I think you’ll be okay. I thought you were trying to make this work…”

“ _Trying_ being the key word, Alex. He’s making it really difficult.” She turned around to look at Mon-El. She spotted him in the corner of the room talking to two brunettes and a blonde. “Look at him,” she said as the turned and backed up to stand next to Alex.

“He’s talking?”

“Flirting!” she exclaimed before catching herself and lowering her voice. “He’s flirting. He stepped away from me barely two minutes ago and already he’s flirting.”

“You don’t know that,” Alex shrugged.

They both watched as he dragged the back of his hand down the blonde’s arm.

Kara turned back to Alex. “See? Flirting!”

“Well, at least he likes blondes,” she shrugged again. “You’re a shoe-in!” She wrapped her arm around Kara’s waist.

“I don’t want him to like me,” Kara shook her head. “I want him to avoid me for the next year so I can just go.”

“You’re not even gonna try to get a little sumthin’ sumthin’ from him while you’re stuck here?” she asked as she leaned her head on Kara’s shoulder.

“Ew. No.”

Alex stared at Mon-El as he walked away from the group of girls. “I think you’re probably missing out.”

“Why?” Kara asked as she nudged Alex upright. “Why do you want me to be into him so badly? What is it about him that’s so fantastic that I should be jumping at the chance?”

“Kara,” Alex started with a small laugh. “I just want you to be happy. I’ve said it before that I think you should give this a chance because, not only would it help our people, but I don’t want you to miss out on an opportunity that you might not even know is there. Look,” she nodded in Mon-El’s direction. “He’s not talking to them anymore. Progress.”

Kara laughed. “Ugh. My dresser thinks that he’s into me.”

“Your dresser?” Alex asked, eyebrows raised high on her forehead.

Kara nodded. “They have a specific servant hired to help me get dressed. I’m not even allowed to dress myself anymore. I can’t be trusted for these fancy events.”

“Well, they do have an image to protect after all…” Alex nodded. “Stuck-up, rich and snobby.”

“You got that right.”

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE BE SEATED FOR OUR MAJESTIES’ FEAST.”

Kara cringed at the loudspeaker announcement.

“I guess I’ll see you after the meal,” Alex whispered as she pulled Kara in for a hug.

“I’ll just stare at you longingly from my table, wishing I could be sitting next to you instead of him,” she nodded behind Alex and she turned just in time to see Mon-El walking toward them.

“Princess,” he nodded at Kara with a smirk. “Miss Alex,” he turned away from Kara. He reached for Alex’s hand, taking it in his own and bringing it to his lips for a chaste kiss as he bowed. “Thank you for joining us.”

Alex giggled and Kara scoffed. “Stop hitting on my friend.”

“Kara,” Alex scolded. “He’s just being polite. Right?”

“Absolutely. I know you’re not family, but you might as well be seen as such soon. I know how important you are to Kara.”

Kara caught his eye and confusion was clear on her face.

“I do listen to you sometimes, you know,” he responded to her quirked eyebrow.

“Colour me shocked.”

“We have to sit down for the meal,” he held out his hand again for Kara to take. “Alex, we’ll see you soon.” Alex nodded and Kara reluctantly took Mon-El’s offered hand. She let him lead her back to their table, taking a single glance back at Alex who winked at her and nodded suggestively before walking toward her own table. She rolled her eyes as she continued to walk beside Mon-El.

“So I don’t even get to sit with my parents?” she asked.

“They have to sit at their own table,” he stated as he led her to a chair. He pulled it out for her and she tried to get all of the fluff of her dress to cooperate enough to fit in the seat. How was she expected to sit down and have a multiple course meal in this dress?

“That sucks,” she said and Mon-El shook his head at her.

“If we had to eat sitting next to your parents, that would mean that we would also have to sit next to mine…and nobody wants that,” he stated as he sat down next to her in his own chair.

“I’d have to agree with you on that one.”

The food was served to their table first, followed by their parents’ tables and then the rest of the guests. They didn’t speak for a long while, but eventually Kara got bored of the silence.

“So, what should I be expecting for this wedding of ours? I want to be prepared and I don’t think I was even prepared enough for this party. It’s so over the top. The idea of the wedding is really starting to freak me out.”

Mon-El shrugged as he pushed around the food on his plate for the third course. “I don’t know. I guess it’s a lot like a Kryptonian wedding would be. There’s the ceremony. The vows and promises. The exchange of courtship rings. The kiss. The sex.”

Kara cringed at the final word and he scoffed at her.

“That’s just like a Kryptonian.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re a prude. Just like all Kryptonians are. You never want to talk about sex. You all act like it’s such a secretive act that’s only meant to be talked about in the shadows of dark bedrooms. It’s okay to say the word. It’s okay to talk about it. We all do it. It’s _normal_. I don’t know why you and your people make such a big deal out of it.”

“That’s not it,” she insisted as a servant came by to switch out their plates for dessert. “It’s you,” she stated and he huffed at her. “We’re going to be married. I always expected my marriage to be a sweet, romantic fairy tale; me falling in love with a man who was charming, smart, trusting, caring, everything I could ask for and more.”

“If you would have lowered your ridiculous standards, you might have already _been_ married and therefore unavailable for an arranged one.”

“You…you’re a player; sarcastic, rude, narcissistic, _Daxamite_. You’re not at all who I would _ever_ choose to be with; would ever _want_ to be with.”

“Well, now you are,” he stated firmly. “You think _I_ wanted to marry a Kryptonian? A woman who refuses to sleep with me, will barely look at me, rolls her eyes every damn minute at whatever I say or do? I want nothing to do with you, but at least I’m trying.”

“ _Trying_? Trying what? To turn me off? To drive me nuts?”

“I’m making the best of the situation we’re stuck in, and Princess, we’re _stuck_. Keep telling yourself that you’re going to break this contract and wait out the year and find a way to save your people without having to stay married to me. Good luck. You’re gonna need it since it’s never happening. In a few months, we’ll be sharing a bed, a life, and eventually a child if my mother gets her way. And she _always_ gets her way. I’m just tired of wasting my time fighting for things I’m never going to get.”

Kara watched as he started to dig into his dessert plate. He was wrong. How could someone be so laid back about something to huge? How could he just give up and let someone else control his entire life; his entire future? She wasn’t going to stand for this. If he wasn’t going to try to break this contract along with her, she was going to do it alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Lots of fun stuff coming up soon, and I know the slow burn must be killing a lot of you, so thank you for having faith in me and continuing to come back for more. I have lots of love for all of you!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	13. A Surprising Favour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Surely it didn’t take long for the party to wrap up, but to Kara, it felt like forever. Various Daxamites had come up to her throughout the night to ask her things about Krypton; about her family, her upbringing, her friends, her lifestyle. Her least favourite question of the night came from a young girl who couldn’t possibly be over eighteen, clad in a dress that was bright pink and as fluffy as her own, who had asked her how she and Mon-El had met, them both being from different planets and all.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I know I still owe a lot of people responses to their comments on this fic, but I figure that if I'm busy with real life, you all would prefer a new chapter before a response to your comments. So, I'll get back to that eventually. So for now, I'll just give another general THANK YOU! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story. Seeing so many positive comments makes my heart grow ten sizes. I've put a LOT of time and energy into this one and have been working on it for over a year at this point, so hearing that you guys like it means more to me than I can even say.

_Day Fourteen (Continued)_

Surely it didn’t take long for the party to wrap up, but to Kara, it felt like _forever_. Various Daxamites had come up to her throughout the night to ask her things about Krypton; about her family, her upbringing, her friends, her lifestyle.

Her least favourite question of the night came from a young girl who couldn’t possibly be over eighteen, clad in a dress that was bright pink and as fluffy as her own, who had asked her how she and Mon-El had met, them both being from different planets and all.

_“We had travelled to Krypton for a business meeting,” Mon-El easily stepped in next to Kara. She hadn’t seen where he’d come from, but was grateful he’d appeared out of nowhere. “We had heard there were some Kryptonian stowaways on our planet and my parents wanted to be sure that that wasn’t true,” he continued. “Our families had to meet to discuss the matter and I knew the moment I laid eyes on her at that meeting that she was someone special.”_

_Kara could feel herself blushing, but she couldn’t figure out if it was because of the words he was saying or because of the fact that she hadn’t even thought about rehearsing a story with herself before the party; as if nobody would have asked the question._

_“I slipped her a note with my off world personal communication device number. I’d written that she was beautiful and that I’d love to get to know her more…away from my family. I asked her to call me.” He looked at Kara who stared back at him wide-eyed. “She called me that night and we decided to meet on her planet. I snuck away a few times a week to see her and our parents were never the wiser.”_

_“How dangerous!” the young girl had exclaimed. “All that you’ve done for love!” she sighed._

_Mon-El wrapped his arm around Kara’s waist and pulled her in close. “Anything for my Princess,” he said as he kissed her cheek; slowly, almost teasingly; his stubble scratching against her cheek lightly._

Now she sat at the table she and Mon-El had shared their meal at while she watched the servants begin cleaning up the remnants of the party. She was lost in thought when her parents walked over to her, their forms appearing in front of her before she’d even noticed them walking toward her.

“Our beautiful girl,” Alura spoke as she held out her arms for her daughter. Kara could feel her eyes beginning to burn; the familiar twinge telling her that if she wasn’t careful, the waterworks would start.

“Mom,” she sighed against her in a hug. “I’m so happy you made it.”

“Of course we made it,” Zor-El stated. “We knew how important this Introduction was. I just wish we could have spent more time with you. You were so busy with all of your new friends.”

“They’re not my friends, Dad,” she said as she moved to hug her father. “The Daxamites invited them. I didn’t get a say in who was invited to the party.”

“Either way,” he shook his head. “We’re proud of you, Kara. We know we asked a lot of you with this contract. This was a lot to take on for the betterment of our people.”

“I didn’t think I really had any choice in the matter,” she said as she pulled away from him.

“We’re still proud,” Alura said.

They sat at one of the tables in the Great Hall for a long while, catching up on each other’s lives until a servant came up to their table, clearing her throat awkwardly. “Princess Kara,” she said quietly. “The Daxamites wish for you to return to your quarters.”

Kara looked at her parents. “My quarters,” she repeated as she made air quotes with her fingers. “When will I see you two next?” she questioned. “I don’t have a record of the important Daxamite events. I assume that’s the only time we’ll get to be together.”

“Sweetheart, we’re staying for a few days,” Alura said cheerfully. “We have to begin the discussions about the wedding.”

“We’re planning the wedding already?” she asked disappointedly.

“Preliminary discussions,” Zor-El clarified. “Likely just some rules regarding what is expected of us.”

“In which room are you staying?” she asked, hoping that the Daxamites could have at least found one single room in the _giant_ Palace to lend her parents for their short stay.

“We found a quaint little hotel not far away.”

“I’ve seen the outside of this Palace, Mother. Nothing on this planet is ‘quaint’.”

“Be nice, Kara,” Alura warned. “They need our help. That’s why we’re doing all of this. They need us as much as we need them. Staying in one of their hotels will also show us what we’re working with. We’re starting wedding discussions, but we’re also starting discussions about bettering this planet.”

Kara sighed, “Fine. I just expect to see you again before you leave. I don’t care what those Daxamites say. I’ve missed you these past two weeks. It’s been really hard to adjust to this place.” She hugged both her parents again, aware of the way the servant was nervously watching her. Kara turned to the girl, “Have you seen my friend, Alex? I wanted to say goodbye to her, too. I didn’t see her leave and she didn’t come find me.”

“I’m sorry, Princess. I haven’t seen her. Really, we must go.”

Kara blew a kiss at her parents before climbing the stairs leading back to the landing she had been standing in before the announcement. She had to admit, her feet were killing her and she was ready to take this dress off, but she really wanted to say goodbye to Alex. She had no idea when she’d be seeing her again. The servant led Kara to one of the entertainment rooms of the Palace and Kara eyed her strangely.

“Why are you taking me here?” she finally asked.

“Prince Mon-El and Queen Rhea requested that I bring you here. I’m unsure as to why,” she said simply before bowing and leaving the room.

Kara stood in the middle of the room confused. Was she supposed to wait here? Couldn’t she have changed her clothes first?

“That dress…” she heard Alex say behind her and she spun around.

“Alex!” she walked over to her. “I thought you’d left.”

“Without saying goodbye? Not even close. I’m gonna stay over for a few days…until your parents leave, at least. We’ll be leaving together.”

“They got you a room, too? How come they didn’t tell me anything?

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed. “He didn’t tell you?”

“My Dad? No, he didn’t say a word,” she shook her head.

“No, Mon-El. He didn’t tell you?”

It’s was Kara’s eyebrows’ turn to furrow. “Tell me that you were staying on this planet? How would he know?”

“Kara,” Alex started, “he told his mother to let me stay.”

“What?”

“I was getting ready to leave and I saw Mon-El. I asked him if he knew where you were so that I could say goodbye. He said he’d ask his mother if I could stay for a while. She was nearby, he shouted out to her and she came over and refused and then he said…get this, that she was ‘going to let me stay’ and she was going to have to ‘find me a room in this damn house’. He said she couldn’t refuse me the way she turned away your parents. That they were supposed to be ‘trying to make peace’ with each other. So here I am!”

“He did that for me?” she asked, her voice clearly surprised.

“See…he might not be so bad after all,” she winked as she nudged Kara with her arm.

“Alex, one nice thing doesn’t outweigh all his other actions,” she said as Rhea walked into the room.

“Princess, I see you’ve learned the news of Miss Alexandra staying a few nights.”

Kara nodded, “Thank you. It’ll be like a sleepover,” she laughed as she wrapped her arm around Alex’s waist. “Like when we were younger!”

“There will be no ‘sleepover’,” Rhea said coldly. “Alexandra’s presence is only welcome here to make you feel more at home as you try to adjust to living in the Palace. You’re not a child. Alexandra will remain in a guest room and you will sleep either in your room or your fiancé’s bed.” She looked to Alex. “Our servant will show you to your room now. Princess, please remove your dress and give it to your dressing servant to be laundered.”

Alex cleared her throat. “You can call me Alex. I prefer it much more than Alexandra.”

Rhea didn’t comment, she just turned and began to leave, a curt “Goodnight ladies,” being all that left her lips. Alex turned back to Kara.

“I’ve already told them to call you Alex. Since she’s still not doing it, I suppose it’s never going to happen.”

Suddenly the servant from earlier came in and Alex and Kara sighed. “You must be the one who’s going to show me to my room?” Alex asked.

The girl nodded, “Yes.”

“And you are?” Alex continued.

The girl eyed her strangely. “Miss?”

“Your name?” Alex furrowed her eyebrows before looking to Kara.

“Nobody ever asks them that,” she whispered as she nodded at Alex.

“Oh,” the girl nodded. “Uhm, Mira. My name is Mira.”

“Hi, Mira. I’m Alex. I’m sure you’ve met, Kara.”

“We actually haven’t really met yet. There’s so many people living here I’m sure it’s going to be a while before I meet everyone. She’s the one who brought me here a few moments ago.”

“I must take you to your room now,” Mira stated.

“Can I come along? Just so I know in which room Alex is staying?”

Mira hesitated. “The Queen will not like that…”

“Mira, let me handle her,” Kara said as she walked over to her, wrapping an arm around the girl. “She thinks she’s tough, but she’s going to realize that she can’t push me around all day and night. I’ll take the blame, don’t worry,” she assured her. “Come on, Alex,” she called out as they moved, “Your glorious room awaits us.”

* * *

Kara had asked Mira to bring Arden back to Alex’s room. That way the two of them could meet and she could be rid of the dress while still hanging out with Alex for a few more hours. They shared stories from the past couple of weeks, wondered together about what this wedding would entail and thought about ways they could help Kara’s parents attend to the problems on this new planet.

The house grew quieter and quieter and soon, Kara realized it would be best if she went back to her own room before Rhea came looking for her. She hugged Alex, wished her a goodnight and headed back.

She was finishing up her nightly rituals in the en suite bathroom and moving back toward her closet-room when she heard a noise in the hall. It sounded like something had fallen to the floor. She crinkled her eyebrows and was about to go check what had caused the noise when she heard Mon-El’s voice.

“We have people to clean that up.”

Her back straightened. He had someone with him! She hurried into her bedroom, quietly but quickly closing the door behind her. She accidentally left it open a tiny crack, just enough to see him enter the room with two women: one attached to his side, the other attached to his lips. They were the two brunettes she’d seen him talking to that very night at the Introduction Party. Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched them stumble toward his bed.

She knew the whole ordering his mother to allow Alex to stay at the Palace was out of character to begin with, but a part of her thought that maybe this was the first way that he was beginning to open up to her; a first step toward trying to be more pleasant toward her and their situation. Obviously she was wrong because he was still falling onto his mattress, both girls climbing on top of him and stripping off his clothes. Silly her. The girls were _inside_ the house tonight. He didn’t even have to go out to find them. She cringed and quietly slid the door the rest of the way shut.

She sat down on her bed, her heart pounding in her chest; half with anger, half with fear. This was getting serious. The whole city knew now about her and Mon-El’s engagement, yet here he was, about to hook up with not one, but _two_ random women on the same night as her Introduction Party. He was never going to change. He was never going to stop this behaviour. She was stuck with this… _forever_.

Tears rushed to her eyes and she squeezed them shut in annoyance. She didn’t want to cry over this anymore, but seeing her parents and Alex today had made her so emotional. When she hadn’t seen them for a while, she’d kind of forgotten that all of this was real. Seeing them again, hearing their stories of back home on Krypton; it all reminded her of the life she’d had to leave behind; of what her life used to be and everything she used to have that was now gone.

She reached over and flicked off the light, grabbed her newly obtained earplugs and slid them into her ears before falling back onto her pillow. She realized that _every_ night was going to be a long one.

* * *

Mon-El lay in the centre of his bed; a Daxamite girl lying on each side of him. Both were fast asleep, but something was bothering him. He was pretty sure he heard crying. The girls were asleep next to him, so there was only one other person who the tiny whimpers and sobs could be coming from: Kara.

It was annoying. Didn’t she know he was trying to sleep? They had to start wedding planning tomorrow and how was he expected to stay awake and alert enough to sit with their parents and pretend to be interested in planning if he couldn’t get any sleep.

He looked from one girl to the other. He could probably get more comfortable and get some actual shut-eye if he kicked them out. He nudged them both awake and they were quickly startled into upright positions.

“Go home, ladies,” he instructed and they didn’t say a word. They just moved to pick up their clothes, get dressed and slip out of the room. He moved into the en suite, splashed some water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were red; cracked and tired. He didn’t feel as refreshed and pleased as he usually did after hooking up with girls, especially two of them at the same time. He felt a little…dirty? Surely, it had nothing to do with the girl crying in the next room.

He decided to hop into the shower and quickly rinse off before trying to get back to sleep. By the time he’d stepped out of the shower and moved back to his bed, there wasn’t a single sound coming from Kara’s room. He assumed she’d fallen asleep and he let out a relieved sigh. _Good_. Now he could get some sleep. He climbed back into bed, shut his eyes and quickly drifted off into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sending lots of love to you all!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	14. Courtship Rings and Fluffy Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kara looked down at the ring on her left hand; the ring she didn’t choose, the ring Mon-El didn’t choose, the ring that was literally thrown at her before she slipped it on to her own finger. It was plain; nothing to it really. She hoped her parents had chosen some options they thought she might like so she could at least have some kind of favourable choice. She’d hate to have to wear something for the rest of her life that Rhea had picked out. Wait! What was she saying? Not for the rest of her life. For the rest of the contract. Then she could take the damn thing off.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to get this update out. I've been slammed at work, and working more overtime hours. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to even think about posting an update, and I've been sick for a while (yay stomach ulcers!) so that hasn't improved my writing mood.
> 
> But even when I don't post for a while, don't get worried! I have every intention of completing this story, and I have an outline, so it'll be done. I just can't always promise consistency in updating when this is essentially an unpaid job, and unfortunately can't be my top priority. I'm currently finishing writing Chapter 27, so I can at least confirm it'll get that far ;)
> 
> Thanks, as always, for reading and I hope you enjoy Chapter 14.

_Day Fifteen_

Breakfast was quiet. Alex had joined the four of them, and they all sat silently and ate. Nobody asked Alex any questions; nothing about where she’d met Kara, about their lives growing up together, about anything that she enjoyed or was looking forward to doing on this planet. Nobody seemed to care to chat and Kara wasn’t going to bring anything up.

As their plates were being cleared and the girls stood up to leave, Rhea finally spoke.

“At noon we will all meet back here for the first meeting regarding the wedding. We’ll be discussing the invited Wedding Party and the ring choices we have available for you both. Alexandra, you are welcome to attend as we assume you will be a part of the Wedding Party.”

Alex looked to Kara and she rolled her eyes to say, ‘obviously’. “Yes…uh, your Majesty. I’d like to attend if that’s okay with everyone,” she nodded, her eyes flicking to Kara to ensure that she addressed her properly.

Rhea seemed pleased and waved a hand in their direction, signalling that they could leave for the time being. Mon-El stood and left without a word at all.

By the time noon rolled around, the girls found themselves back at the conference room table; the room that reminded Kara about the awful day the contract had been slid across the table toward her; the contract that changed her life forever. Alex sat next to Kara, who sat next to Mon-El, and both sets of parents sat across the table. Kara was smiling at her parents and they were smiling back. Mon-El parents on the other hand looked far less pleased to see their son and Kara couldn’t help but feel bad for him in a way.

She may be stuck on this planet and in this house, but at least she wasn’t _related_ to those awful people who seemed to hate their own flesh and blood.

“First thing’s first,” Lar Gand started. “We will need to discuss who will make up the Wedding Party. Kara, we understand Alexandra will be standing up with you.”

Kara nodded, “Yes, please.”

“Alexandra,” he turned to the girl. “You’ll be required to wear the dress chosen for you by my wife, but the colour choice will be Kara’s. Should you have any preferences, you are advised to share them with her, however, she is not required to suit your desires. Mon-El, we understand Winn is to be standing up with you. The same rules apply, however his suit and yours will be chosen by your mother.”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “I know I have no say in this damn wedding anyway. I still don’t know why I have to even be here for this.”

“You’re required to be here because you are the husband-to-be,” Rhea snapped. “You need to know what is expected of you because you will _not_ be ruining this day and putting shame on our family for it.”

He sighed heavily again and didn’t say another word.

Lar Gand continued, “We all, as your parents, will sit in the front rows of the Great Hall. The left side will be for Princess Kara’s family and chosen guests. The right side will be for ours. All guests will be vetted by us of course, but you ultimately may choose who you wish to invite.”

“Now, for the rings,” Alura started excitedly. “We have some selections for each of you. As was noted in the contract; the rings currently on your fingers will be removed and replaced by a gold band.”

“Kara looked down at the ring on her left hand; the ring she didn’t choose, the ring Mon-El didn’t choose, the ring that was literally thrown at her before she slipped it on to her _own_ finger. It was plain; nothing to it really. She hoped her parents had chosen some options they thought she might like so she could at least have some kind of favourable choice. She’d hate to have to wear something for the rest of her life that Rhea had picked out. Wait! What was she saying? Not for the rest of her life. For the rest of the _contract_. Then she could take the damn thing off.”

Zor-El picked up a box from the side of the table and opened it, sitting the base inside the lid. It was filled with eight rings; four thin and feminine looking bands alongside four thicker bands.

They sparkled under the light as he pushed the box toward the centre of the table. Alex leaned into Kara as she tried to get a look inside the box.

“Ooh,” she cooed, and she received a glare from Rhea.

“Alexandra, you have no say in the ring choice.”

Alex looked up at her startled. “I know,” she said with furrowed eyebrows. “I’m just admiring them.”

Kara scanned the rings in the box. Her eyes landed on one in particular. It was a very thin band; braided yellow gold. It had no diamonds, no real sparkle. It was subtle. She wasn’t excited about having to wear a ring to represent a marriage to a man she didn’t want. It would almost blend in on her hand and be barely noticeable, but the craftsmanship was gorgeous. She was about to point to it; to slip it from its spot in the ring box and try it on when Mon-El reached over and pointed.

“I think that one,” he said quietly and her eyes shot up to meet his. He shrugged before looking away. “It’s small…I mean, subtle. I know you don’t like the idea of wearing it. People will barely notice this one, but when they do, they’ll be impressed.”

She had to pay close attention to keep her jaw from dropping open. His finger had pointed at the braided gold; the ring she’d chosen herself for the same reasons he’d named. She nodded and moved to take a hold of the ring.

“I was going to say this one anyway,” she said quietly. “I don’t want anything too flashy.” She pulled off her silver ring and sat it down on the table before slipping the gold one on. She moved her hand around, the ring catching the light. “Yeah,” she nodded. “I like this one.”

“It’s really pretty, Kara,” Alex whispered beside her.

“The choice has been made,” Lar Gand smiled. “Mon-El,” he nodded at the box and Kara slid it closer to him. She took the new gold band off her finger and replaced it with the silver one again.

He looked down at the box, his eyes flicking between the four male rings. Kara stared at them, too. They all looked the same to her; solid, yellow gold bands. No etchings, no diamonds, nothing distinguishing them from each other. He finally pulled one out of the case.

“This’ll do,” he sighed. “They all look the same to me.” He held out a gold band before sliding it onto his finger to replace the silver band, the same way that she had done mere seconds before. The edges curved into his finger and it was shiny enough without being obnoxious. He slid it back off and slid it along the table toward his parents. He put the silver ring back on his finger and looked up at them.

“Are we done here?”

“A final thing for today,” Alura started sweetly. She looked at Kara, “Sweetie, you have to start thinking about your dress.” She looked at Rhea and Lar Gand. “We’ve discussed it and have decided that the final dress will be _your_ choice. Whichever you want to wear. We may narrow down the choices due to having to be respectful as the Royal Families of this new cohabitating planet; nothing too scandalous or obnoxious…not that we’d expect that from you, of course, but the final dress you wear will be of your choosing.”

Kara let a small smile slip onto her lips as she nodded at her mother. “Thanks, Mom.” She looked to Rhea and Lar Gand, “And you too, thank you.”

“And now we’re done?” Mon-El questioned as he began to stand.

“For now,” Rhea stated firmly and he turned to leave the room.

“Kara,” Alura started. “We’d like to take you and Alex out for lunch today and we’re going to do some shopping at the mall in the city. Queen Rhea has advised that you require more clothing, specifically without our family crest on it. We’re trying to ease you into the community without any hostility and the crest may come off as rude at this point in time.” She turned toward the Daxamites. “We’ll have them back in time for dinner and we’ll return again tomorrow for the next short meeting about the wedding.”

The girls stood and eyed each other. The mall! Finally getting _out_ of this Palace and doing something fun with people she _actually_ _liked_ for a change.

“We’ll meet you at the front door in ten!” Kara smiled before she and Alex rushed back upstairs to get ready.

* * *

Mon-El wandered the hallways of the Palace. It was no more quiet than usual, but he felt like something was missing. It had only been just over two weeks since Kara had started living with them, but since she and Alex had been out with Kara’s parents for most of the day, the house had felt somewhat empty the entire time. It was getting close to midnight and he hadn’t seen the girls since dinner. Kara wasn’t in her room and he didn’t know which guest room Alex was staying in. Curiosity got the better of him and he found himself moving about the Palace looking for where they might be.

He walked by one of the entertainment rooms on the main floor and he noticed that the room light was still on; the television set to a channel that frequently played various Daxamite movies; low quality, cheesy films most often, but it was easy to get engrossed in them. The lights and television were on, and there were the two girls, but they looked to be sound asleep. Kara was on the sofa directly in front of the television, lying on her side, curled in a tiny little ball. Alex was on the other sofa perpendicular to Kara, stretched out along the cushions, a blanket draped across her body.

He moved toward the end table by Kara and picked up the remote for the television set, pressing a couple of glowing buttons that made the television screen dim and fade to black before disappearing completely. He set the remote back down on the table and the noise of it hitting the top made Alex’s eyes flutter open.

Alex’s eyes adjusted to the bright lights in the room before she slipped her eyes shut again. She had noticed Mon-El standing there, and she cracked her eyes open just a peek; wide enough that she could see his movements without him noticing she was awake. He was just standing there staring at Kara and Alex was intrigued.

He watched Kara for a moment; slow, steady breaths moving in and out of her body. Her knees were curled into her chest, a small pout on her lips, with a slight furrow to her brow. It occurred to him that she might be cold. He reached for a fluffy blanket draped across the back of the sofa she was sleeping on and he shook it out in front of him. He carefully draped it across her body, tucking it gently under her chin and making sure to cover her entirely. His hand reached out and he brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear before taking a step back.

She did something to him. He didn’t really understand it, but when he looked at her, he felt something inside of himself light up. His parents, his life, this Palace; it all made him angry, annoyed, exasperated. It made him scoff at people, be sarcastic, be rude; say things that made himself feel better about the crap he had to live through daily. But when he looked at Kara…even with her utter disdain toward him, there was something about her. She made him feel a little lighter.

That was probably just because she was stuck in this damn place with him, too. He had to face his obnoxious parents every day, and now so did she. It was a little easier to do knowing that you weren’t doing it alone; even if she never really said anything out loud against his parents.

He watched as she stretched out a little under the blanket, the furrow of her brow softening. He sighed lightly before turning and leaving, his hand flicking off the lights and closing the door before he went.

Alex lay on the sofa, a small smirk on her face as she looked over at Kara. She was still dead asleep, having no idea of the way Mon-El found that blanket and caringly arranged it over her body, tucking her in. If she wasn’t half asleep, she would have laughed out loud. Kara hated the guy, but clearly he was warming up to her. Her eyes slipped closed. She’d have to fill Kara in on this in the morning.

* * *

_Day Sixteen_

Alex’s last day at the Daxamite Palace was the day that Kara had dreaded the most (well…for now, at least). She’d _tried_ to be excited all day about their trip to the mall, their lunch outside of the Palace, and also for dinner with her parents, but it was hard to be excited about something that she knew was ending in merely a few hours’ time.

After their dinner, Kara’s parents were going to return to their hotel room, pack up their things and then come back to the Palace to pick up Alex and return to Krypton. So, she and Kara sat in the library to spend their last hour or so together before Kara had to go back to her unfortunate reality.

“So…” Alex started with a grin on her face, staring at Kara from a lounge chair on the opposite side of the library.

“What’re you so happy about?” Kara asked, her eyebrows crinkled together. “My parents are coming back any minute. How can you even manage to _smile_ right now?”

“I assume you were fast asleep last night and didn’t see who came in to turn off the lights for us?”

“What’re you talking about?” Kara thought back to last night. _Right!_ She hadn’t slept in her bed last night. They’d both fallen asleep on the sofas in the entertainment room. “I forgot we fell asleep watching that awful movie. Why? Who came in?”

Alex wiggled her eyebrows at her. “Mon-El, that’s who.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Oh, who cares? How nice of him to turn off the lights in his own home without the assistance of a servant.”

“Karaaa,” Alex whined. “He came in and he turned off the television. The noise woke me up and I noticed he was just standing there next to you watching you sleep.”

“Creepy,” she stated.

“No, Kara,” she laughed. “You must have looked cold or something because he took a blanket from the back of the sofa and covered you up with it; tucked it under your little chin and everything. Brushed your hair from your face with his hand.” She sighed exaggeratedly. “It was adorable.”

Kara tried to think back. All she remembered was that boring movie they were watching, they having been unable to find anything else worth paying attention to, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up this morning, face smushed into a decorative pillow, a crick in her neck, and an arm hanging off the sofa, knuckles resting against the carpeted floor. She did remember a blanket, but she couldn’t recall where it came from. She hadn’t thought anything of it when she’d woken up.

“So?” she asked with a shrug. “That means nothing.”

“Oh, come on, Kara.” Alex got up and moved to sit next to her on the oversized lounge chair. She nudged her over as she moved to sit. “ _I_ think he likes you.” Kara gave an exasperated sigh in response. “He got his mom to let me stay here, he took care of you last night when you didn’t even ask him to, he knew that you wanted that gold braided ring out of all the others before you could even hint at it.”

“Again, why are you pushing this so hard, Alex?”

“Because before I’d started staying here, I’d just heard you talking about him and telling me how awful he was. But now I’ve seen you two interact. You may _want_ to hate the guy, but you don’t actually hate him. I think a part of you might _actually_ be connecting with him. Or maybe a part of you just feels sorry for him…having to live in this house, having the parents that he has.”

“Well, I do feel bad for him, and then he goes and does something selfish or annoying or disgusting and it makes me change my mind.”

“Don’t even try to tell me that you weren’t already eyeing that braided gold ring before he chose it. Before you even said anything, he’d thought it was perfect for you. He knows you, even after this short of a time!”

“Okay, so maybe he’s learned a few things about what I like and stuff. He can pick out a ring that I don’t detest. I don’t think that’s enough to get me to want to marry him, thanks.”

“Anyway,” Alex started as she wrapped an arm around Kara’s shoulders. “I’m tired of sounding like a broken record, so I’ll stop telling you to go for it…after this last time. Kara,” she turned and looked her straight in the eye. “Go for it! You’ve got nothing to lose.”

“That’s because I’ve already lost everything.”

“Exactly,” she agreed. “So, would you rather mope around here all miserable all the time, or at least try to see if you two can get a real connection? I see potential,” she noted.

“Miss Alex,” Mira interrupted from the doorway. “The Kryptonian King and Queen have come to take you back to Krypton.”

“Mira,” Kara stood up. “You can just call them my parents.”

“I’m required to--”

“Never mind,” she sighed and Alex stood up, too.

“I’ll see you soon?” Alex asked.

“The first possible chance we get,” Kara nodded as tears began to form in her eyes.

Alex cupped her friend’s cheeks. “Stay strong, babe,” she encouraged. “Before you know it, we’ll all be living on the same planet. Hey, maybe I could move in here. This place is big enough for like at least ten families.”

Kara laughed through her tears. “I’d actually really like that.”

They held each other’s hands as they walked to the front door. Kara both greeted and said goodbye to her parents after they’d met with the Daxamites for a quick wedding discussion, and she watched them walk out to the car provided to them by the Daxamites to take them back to the transmatter portal to Krypton. Kara sadly closed the front door behind herself.

All alone again.

* * *

Mon-El lay in bed; his eyes wide open and focused on the ceiling above him in the darkness.

Kara was crying. _Again_.

He had hung out with Winn that evening, but they hadn’t made it out to the club so he came home solo. Now instead of being able to focus on the naked body of one or more women in his bed, he was forced to listen to the sound of her crying all night.

He knew she cried a lot. Particularly at night. Her sobs muffled by her pillow or her blanket or perhaps her hand. She likely thought she was being quiet, but he always heard her. Usually he was just better at ignoring her.

Maybe tonight she was being louder than usual? Her parents had left the hotel and gone home, taking Alex with them. She was only here for a few days, but they were basically inseparable the entire time. Yeah, come to think of it, she probably was more sad than usual.

Normally this wouldn’t bother him. Since when did her happiness matter to him anyway? But the sound of her cries did something to his heart; a little twinge inside of him that made him want to open her door and tell her she didn’t have to cry; that he would take care of her if she’d let him.

Wait.

He didn’t mean that, did he?

That was just his extreme tiredness talking for him. What he wanted from her was for her to _stop crying_ so that he could get some damn sleep around here. Instead of going to check on her, he squeezed his eyes shut, folded the ends of his pillow up around his ears and forced himself to shut down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sending out lots of love to you all!
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_
> 
> (also, check the #ContractuallyYours tag on Twitter if you'd like to see pictures of the final ring choices)


	15. Tears and Elixirs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Morning already? He groaned in dissatisfaction. He hadn’t slept at all last night. Kara’s crying had kept him awake for a long while. Then once she’d quieted, he was kept awake because he couldn’t stop thinking about her; about how awful she must feel about being stuck here to be crying like that nearly every night.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Where have I been? Literally the last time I opened this fic document on my computer was May 24. I'm so sorry I abandoned this for so long. 
> 
> To be honest, I just kind of lost interest for a while.
> 
> Overall, it's just been a hard year for me; health wise, work wise, emotion wise, and Supergirl wise. Last year at this time, I was still recovering from the S3 finale, while also experiencing some of the greatest moments of my life with Melissa on Broadway, and ever since then, things have just continued to be crazy in my real life. 
> 
> Some of you and I might have this in common, but I'll always feel like a little bit of the show died for me while watching S3. I guess that's often how a shipper feels when they lose their ship and an aspect of the show that they love so much, but I've been shipping for YEARS and this was the first one that really just HURT. Because of that, it's hard to sit down and write sometimes, because in order to write, I need to get back into the karamel headspace, and when so much is going on in my life personally, it's hard to bring myself back there where I know that the only happy ending will be in the fic that I'm writing. 
> 
> I just wanted to let you guys in on all that because I'm really busy in real life and I have to say that this fic isn't a priority for me. But I also want to make it clear that I love this couple and I LOVE this fic. I NEVER want to post an update of this story if I'm not feeling like I'm in the right headspace. I never want to force myself to re-read a chapter and post it if I'm not ready. I take a lot of pride in this fic, more so than with the others I've done, because at this point, I've been working with this one for well over a year now and it's very special to me. So I apologize for any long waiting periods for updates, but I'm never going to half-ass this story for you guys. People who love my writing deserve better, and this ship deserves better. It's already had a lifetime's worth of bad writing.
> 
> Anyways, you didn't come back here after all this time to listen to me rant and ramble on. So here's Chapter 15.
> 
> Also, it's my birthday today, so reviews and comments are like extra special gifts for me today. :)

_Day Twenty-Six_

Mon-El felt soft fingertips, feather light, moving up his torso from his bellybutton to his neck. He looked down and watched the movements covered by the thin sheet draped across their bodies.

“Kara,” he called out and he watched the sheet flutter lightly as she breathed against it. “Come out of there,” he told her and he felt her lips land on his abdomen; trailing kisses from left to right as her hands hooked into the waistband of his pajama pants.

“In a minute,” she answered back and he smiled, his hands landing on her sheet covered head.

She continued to trail kisses along his torso, lips following the curves of his pecks before her tongue flicked out against a nipple. He groaned at her. Her head slowly popped out from under the sheet, her hair mussed, a teasing grin on her face as she kissed up and along his neck to his ear.

“Are you ready for me?” she asked and he nodded with another groan.

“Always,” he sighed, and she tongued at his ear as her hand slid into his pajama bottoms, reaching for his cock, her fingers wrapping around him tightly. His eyes slid shut at the feel of her hand around him, and when he opened his eyes again…

He was alone.

Lying in his bed alone, red sunlight streaming onto his face through the thin curtains draped across the window of his room. He caught his bedroom door closing as soon as his eyes finished properly taking in the surroundings of his room.

_Morning already?_ He groaned in dissatisfaction. He hadn’t slept _at all_ last night. Kara’s crying had kept him awake for a long while. Then once she’d quieted, he was kept awake because he couldn’t stop thinking about her; about how awful she must feel about being stuck here to be crying like _that_ nearly every night. He looked to Kara’s room and noticed that her door was wide open. It occurred to him that she had just left and that she was the one he caught closing the door a few seconds ago.

He sighed. Maybe he could try to get some sleep now that she was gone. He closed his eyes, but he had to squeeze them shut hard in order to block out the sun streaming into the room. He lay there for no more than fifteen minutes before giving up on trying to fall back asleep. His back was sore and his neck told him he didn’t rest properly against his pillow all night. He knew what his body needed. He needed a shower in the bathroom with the multiple shower-head shower; the one where every shower felt like a full body massage.

_Yeah_ , he nodded to himself as he sat up. That was _definitely_ what he needed. He swung his legs out of the covers and moved to stand. He walked toward his window, shoving aside the curtains and looking out at the day ahead of him.

Just as crappy as it was yesterday.

He sighed before turning away. At least it wasn’t much longer until Kara’s parents were going to help out with the mess out there. Maybe they could actually start living in a city that was once again decent to look at. He knew how bad the people out there had it, and how little his own parents cared about them. His family looked great; that’s all they cared about. They only invited the highest of classes into their events; the richest of citizens. They didn’t know about the poverty that existed out there. Or at least, if they knew, they didn’t care enough to pay attention to it.

He was lost in his own thoughts as he moved through the hallways and toward the bathroom. It hadn’t even occurred to him to question why the bathroom door was closed. His hand was already on the doorknob and he was pushing the door wide open without thinking.

“Mon-El!” Kara was screaming. Not just screaming; _shrieking_. She had an arm and hand tightly pressed to her naked breasts, a hand trying to cover between her legs as she spun around to face away from him. She nearly slipped on the tile floor, but caught herself before she could fall over.

His jaw dropped, his eyes wide before he, himself, spun around. “I didn’t see anything!” he shouted back.

Kara was hurriedly trying to grab the towel from the counter, wrapping herself in it tightly. “Get _out_ of here!” she growled. “Close the door!”

Mon-El took one large step and he found himself out in the hall, slamming the bathroom door closed behind himself.

_Holy crap_.

Why did he open that door? Why didn’t he knock first? Why was she using the _one_ shower in the entire Palace behind the _one_ door that _didn’t_ lock?

Her naked body flashed into his mind again.

_Holy crap_.

He decided to take his shower in one of the bathrooms on the total opposite end of the Palace.

His cold shower.

His very, very cold shower.

* * *

When Mon-El had arrived at the breakfast table, his parents were already sitting waiting for him.

Lar Gand watched Mon-El walk in and sit down in his chair at the table. “Son, have you seen Princess Kara this morning?”

“No!” he shouted and he flinched at his own outburst. “I mean, no. No, I haven’t seen her.” He fidgeted in his chair, his eyes trained on the empty plate in front of him. “She had already woken up and left her room before I woke up.”

“Ahh, there she is,” he heard his mother say and his head rose quickly. He turned to watch Kara walk across the room before taking her seat next to him. She was already blushing and clearly avoiding his eyes.

“Good morning, everyone,” she mumbled the greeting quietly while sitting down.

Nobody spoke again until all the plates were nearly empty.

“We’ll gather again after lunch,” Rhea told everyone. “We’ll be discussing the invitations and the guest list for the wedding: who we _must_ invite, who we _should_ invite, who you both would like to attend. We’ll have to plan out the seating arrangements as well. Princess, we have instructions from your parents from their recent visit, so we’ll discuss them, too. So, please, everyone be on time for lunch so we can get started promptly afterwards.”

Mon-El watched Kara nod before he did as well. The servants came out to collect their plates and Mon-El’s parents stood from their seats.

“Have a good morning you two,” Lar Gand stated before leaving the kids to continue staring awkwardly at the table in front of them.

Mon-El cleared his throat with a cough. “Kara…” he started and her head flicked upward abruptly, surprise clear on her face at him addressing her directly; her wide eyes meeting his for the first time since _the incident_. “I, uh, I had a hard time sleeping last night. I wasn’t really all that awake this morning. I just didn’t even think of knocking before opening that door. I’m really the only one who ever uses that shower and I just didn’t expect anyone to be in there. But I was so tired and so out of it, I just want you to know that I didn’t really see anything.”

_Liar_ , he heard himself say in his own head. _You saw enough to know that your dreams have been selling her short. She was_ so _much better._

“Mon-El, can we just…” she sighed. “Can we just never bring up what happened again? Like ever?”

He nodded.

“We’ll just forget it,” she told him, face serious, but clearly she was still embarrassed.

“All is forgotten,” he stated. _Again, liar_. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget the gentle jut of her naked hips, the smooth, unmarred skin stretching across her flat abdomen, leading up to the curves of her breasts. Oh Rao, he needed to stop thinking about it all or he’d need another cold shower.

“Thank you,” she nodded with an exhale. She looked relieved.

But she also looked tired.

Really tired. Dark circles under her eyes, lids that were puffed up enough to be concerning. The edges of her eyes were reddened, clearly from swiping tissue across them a few too many times last night; little red cracks in the whites of her eyes, the normally sparking blue of her irises now dull.

“Kara…” he started, about to bring up the crying he’d heard last night.

“If it’s okay with you, I’m going to stay in for the day. I don’t feel much like going around the city or doing much of anything really.” She finally stood from her seat, her eyes avoiding his again. “I’ll see you at lunch…and the meeting.”

Before another word could leave his mouth, she’d left the room. He scrubbed his hand across his face. He could tell she was struggling being here; how hard it was for her to face his family every day while in this situation, especially now that her parents and Alex had left. He wished he could help to make it easier on her. He didn’t know why, but he really did.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone pretty well…considering how awful it could have gone as an alternative. Lunch was the usual: everyone sitting in silence at a table, no sound other than chewing and silverware clanging against dishes. Even the meeting about the wedding wasn’t as dreadful as Kara had expected.

_“And who else did you wish to have attend, Princess?” Rhea had asked her, voice surprisingly pleasant. Kara’s eyes met hers._

_“I think you’ve covered all the bases with your list.” It was extensive. Over a hundred names, none of whom she knew._

_“Your mother has also provided us with a list of your side of the family who must be invited,” Lar Gand chipped in as he opened up a hologram list for her that Alura had left with them. More people?! Kara looked down the list and she realized that she actually knew most of them; at the very least they were people she’d met a few times. “But who do_ you _want to have there?”_

_Kara eyed Mon-El sitting next to her. This felt like a trap. Like she was supposed to give some names and they would forcefully turn them down, just to rub it in her face because that’s who these people were._

_“I guess there’s some friends I had when I was younger; those who went to the schools and universities in the area while I was tutored at home by my parents. I haven’t seen most of them in a while, but it might be nice to have some familiar faces…”_

_Rhea slid her own electronic device over to Kara. “Please add their names to the bottom if they’re not on your parents’ list and we’ll have the invitations made up.”_

_“Your mother has put in her suggestions for the font and style of the invitations -- all Kryptonian guests will have invitations in Kryptonese; the Daxmites will receive the same in our own language,” Lar Gand instructed. “Will any of your guests have a problem with that? I assume none of them would be able to read the Daxamite alphabet, and the lower classes may not be able to properly read the English language.”_

_Kara nodded, “Yeah, I think that’s true. Besides, we didn’t see any Daxamite writing on our planet; surely nobody would understand it. There are very few, if any, that lived on Minerva who may have actually come across it.”_

They’d shown her samples of what the invitations would look like. They’d looked like something she would have chosen herself, had the wedding been her own choice in the first place.

Though the day hadn’t been the worst yet, the night was still hard.

Kara lay on her bed, as close to tears as she could possibly be. The more they talked about the wedding, the more she realized that it was _actually_ coming. She’d been living with the Daxamites for almost three weeks now. The wedding was a little more than five months away, but that was still far too soon for her liking.

So she continued to lie on her bed (that was somehow now missing her blanket), her closed book resting beside her since she couldn’t concentrate on reading anyway, contemplating about what challenges tomorrow could bring.

* * *

_At least she wasn’t crying this time_ , Mon-El thought to himself as he lay on his bed in the dark. He heard sniffling every so often, but no direct sobs this time. Progress?

His eyes flicked over to the small crack of an opening to Kara’s room. Her light was still on, even though it was getting late. He hadn’t seen her in a while, but when he’d gotten home, her door was already pushed far enough to probably be deemed “closed”.

He debated if he should go and get the elixir her knew he kept in the kitchen cupboard downstairs. It might help with all the crying. He heard another sniffle followed by a loud cough, and it made his decision for him.

When he’d returned, her light was still on and he assumed he was safe to walk in. His hand pushed at the door and it swung open easily.

Kara jumped and sat up in her bed. “Mon-El!”

“I didn’t mean to startle you or anything,” he said. “I just wanted to leave this elixir here for you. It’ll help with the…” he took in her reddened, puffy eyes, “…dehydration.”

_Oh, great,_ she thought. He probably knew she had been consistently crying her eyes out. She really thought she’d pushed her door all the way shut. Not that that seemed to matter to him anyway.

“Don’t you _ever_ knock?” she asked, contempt audible in her voice as she referred to the moment earlier that day that neither of them would directly speak of _ever_ again.

He shrugged. “Your door wasn’t closed. Your light was on.”

“Maybe I wanted to be alone, thought I pushed the door closed, and it turns out it didn’t swing all the way shut? Knock next time,” she told him.

“Okay,” he crinkled his eyebrows at her. “Do you want this or not?”

“What is it?”

“An elixir,” he repeated. “I use it whenever I’m sick or when I drink too much alcohol or whatever. It restores your body and mind faster from sickness and dehydration than water does.”

“I don’t want your potions,” she stated firmly.

“We’re Daxamites, not witches,” he told her. “It’s just a drink that restores your body. You don’t have to drink it. I can bring you water if you want that instead.”

“Shouldn’t you be busy in your own bed with whatever girl you found and are screwing tonight?” she spat out at him.

“I don’t only _screw_ in my bed, Kara,” he emphasized as he quoted her choice of word back at her. “We didn’t make it back here this time,” he stated with a nearly proud grin.

“Ew,” was her only response as she moved to lay back down on her mattress.

He watched her try to get comfortable before he noticed something. He furrowed his eyebrows at her even though she wasn’t looking up at him.

“Where did your blanket go?” he asked confusedly.

“I dunno,” she shrugged as she lay there.

“What’d you mean you don’t know?” he asked with a laugh.

She shrugged again. “It was gone when I came back from the library.”

He peeked out into his room and looked around. He didn’t see an extra blanket laying folded anywhere. “It was probably taken by someone for laundry and they forgot to bring you a new one.” He paused. “You know, it may feel like it, but this isn’t a prison. You can ask for another blanket.”

“I’m not using your slaves,” she said defiantly.

“You could have asked _me_ ,” he said. “I wouldn’t refuse to give you an extra blanket if you needed one. I know you hate me and that our parents are making our lives miserable. I’m not going to make it worse on you.”

“That’s all you do!” she suddenly shouted as she sat up again. “You’re making every day here miserable for me.”

He crinkled his eyebrows. “What?” he asked. “What am _I_ doing to make your life miserable?”

“Well, all of the girls for starters,” she said. “Not only do I have to marry a man that I didn’t choose, but I have to _also_ marry a man who whores himself out to the _entire_ planet!” she shouted again, standing up this time, face to face with his surprised one. “And to top it all off, you bring them home to do it right outside my door nearly _every_ night. You’re rude and sarcastic and you’ve never done anything for me that would make me change my mind.”

He nodded at the elixir in his hands, as if his offering were supposed to be the thing to make up for everything.

“Ha!” she scoffed. “I don’t know why you’d think I’d be anything _but_ miserable here.”

He blinked at her. “I can’t help who I am, Kara.”

“Really?” she challenged. “You can’t stop having sex? Even now that your wife has been chosen for you?”

“Are we going to _start_ having sex?” he returned.

“No,” she stated firmly.

“Then I’m not going to stop having sex with girls who will.”

“And me being stuck with you acting like that…you’re not making my life miserable, right?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Kara, I don’t see why you’re putting this all on me. I’ve told you before and I’ll keep saying it until you hear me. You can go out and have sex with someone else and this will all end right away. It’s in the contract. You can bring a guy home from wherever you find one and screw him on the Dining Hall table in front of everyone and you can be shipped right back to Krypton. But instead, you’re still sitting here complaining.”

She shook her head. “You just don’t get it at all! Unlike _you_ , I’m not only thinking about myself. I’m thinking of my people; the people stranded on Krypton, barely surviving thanks to _your_ family. I need to keep this contract valid in order to take care of them and my own friends and family. To make sure that they all get a better life; are given a chance to survive. At least once all my people move here, when the contract ends, we’ll already be saved. I could care less about who they pick to be your new wife.”

“So, you’re just going to be miserable for the foreseeable future instead then?”

“I guess so,” she stated firmly. “Besides, I like to cry, you know. It’s a way to release my emotions. It feels good.”

He took in her reddened eyes and scowl. “Are you sure about that?”

She sighed heavily. “Can you just go now? I’m less miserable when you’re not standing next to me.” He watched as she turned and got back into bed. “I’d like that extra blanket if you wouldn’t mind.”

He walked back into his room and left for a moment. When he returned, he had a fluffy blue blanket in his arms; one hand holding it and the other holding the elixir. “I’ll leave this just in case. Drink it or don’t. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

She scoffed at him again as he left the room. He got back into his bed, mood dampened until he started thinking. She was probably right. He hadn’t _really_ done anything for her. Yeah, he probably made less jokes about her personality and he didn’t insult her people anymore. At least he’d hoped so. He hadn’t really been paying much attention to her.

Oh wait, that was probably part of the problem, too.

Then he realized another thing. She was living with him inside the Royal Palace. She’d barely been into the _actual_ city. His parents only allowed her and Alex to go to a specific nearby mall when they went out on their own; a driver being provided for their trip there and back. Surely Kara’s parents didn’t travel into the parts of the city where the _real_ people actually lived.

Obviously he and his family were well off. They had anything they could ever desire or require. That was purposeful. They kept everything to themselves; provided for no one outside of the Palace. They barely even provided for their servants.

Kara had no idea about all the people on the planet that really needed help; all the people he tried to ignore whenever they went out in public because that was what their family did. All the people that his family didn’t invite to the parties or announcements or feasts. The people who surely were _not_ going to be on the invitation list for the wedding.

He decided that he needed to show her.

She needed to know who else this contract was saving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_


	16. Downtown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “As much as he hated the idea of marriage to a Kryptonian, and as much as he knew that his parents didn’t care about people other than themselves, a part of him knew that he had to fulfill this contract in order to help save his own planet from deterioration, and to help save the Daxamites barely surviving here.” -- Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> Back again (finally!) with a new chapter. Now, I'm not sorry that I took a break from writing/editing to have some time for myself, because I had a great and SUPER JAM PACKED summer of fun. But, I am sorry that I unintentionally took time for a break with this story just when things were actually about to finally get somewhere (yay! slow burn!)...
> 
> In any event, thanks for reading, welcome back, and enjoy!

_Day Forty-Seven_

It had been three weeks.

Hopefully that was enough of a cooling off period for Kara to actually listen to him. She’d barely spoken to him during that time, other than what was required at meetings about the wedding. Those invitations just wouldn’t _end_! He could swear to Rao that there were going to end up being five hundred people at this damn wedding. And of course, hand written invitations for everyone! The Daxamite servants had to copy the letters from a template that Kara had written for them for the Kryptonian guests and it was taking twice as long.

Nonetheless, the wedding was getting closer by the day, and he knew that he really shouldn’t put off showing Kara what the commoner Daxamites were living like for much longer. Maybe then she wouldn’t think that she was so superior in comparison to him. As much as he hated the idea of marriage to a Kryptonian, and as much as he knew that his parents didn’t care about people other than themselves, a part of him knew that _he_ had to fulfill this contract in order to help save his _own_ planet from deterioration, and to help save the Daxamites barely surviving _here_. So he stood in the doorway of Kara’s room, eyes locked on her form, but she refused to look up at him.

Kara could sense him standing there, but decided to wait for him to speak first. When he didn’t say a word and just kept standing there _staring_ , she sighed heavily.

“What is it now?”

“I want you to come for a drive with me.”

Kara’s eyes still didn’t leave the book in her lap. “Why would I want to go anywhere with you? And why would I care about what you want anyway?”

“Kara…”

She finally looked up at him and she noticed his attire. He was dressed down compared to what he usually wore; scuffed shoes, torn denim, a jacket with a visible hole in the cuff of each sleeve. Why would a Prince even _own_ clothes like that?

“Why are you dressed like that? That outfit…” she asked confusedly.

“Because I’m taking you downtown. We have to fit in there so that nobody recognizes us or figures out who we are.” He threw a pile of clothes on her bed beside her. “Put those on.”

She looked down at the pile beside her, and she slid the bookmark back into her book before closing it. “Why are you taking me downtown?”

“I’ll give you five minutes. Hurry up and change. I don’t want my parents catching on to what we’re doing.” He grabbed the doorknob and closed her door for her as he left.

She picked up the hooded sweatshirt on the top of the pile. It was clearly his; oversized and just as ragged as the one he was wearing. She wondered how often he went “downtown”, but knowing what Argo City looked like downtown, she didn’t know why they had to dress like this. A pair of denim pants torn at the knees; a long tear down part of the thigh. She slid the fabric through her fingers. Denim; they’d long since given up on the making of the material on Krypton after spotting it on Earth. It was far too expensive to even try to replicate; too many other uses for its ingredients, and it was scarce on Krypton. Here, apparently even the disheveled lower classes living downtown could afford it? She eyed the closed bedroom door.

She didn’t like him much; couldn’t stand him most of the time, but a part of her said to trust him. That look on his face alone…

She decided to change into the outfit and give it a shot. Maybe he’d show her something worthwhile. When she came out of her room in her change of clothes, he was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands clasped together, knee bouncing…nervously?

He noticed her and quickly stood. “Ready?”

“Yeah, but Mon-El, why are we--”

“Wait here,” he said before nearly running to the window at the side of the room. He looked down and nodded. “Shut the door,” he instructed her and she looked to his open bedroom door. She closed it before turning back to him.

“Why are we being so secretive about this?”

He pushed open the window panes and told her, “Because my parents forbid me from going downtown without an escort.” He hooked a thumb behind himself, signalling below them. “I have a pod waiting downstairs.”

Her eyes widened. “Are we going to jump out the window?”

“Of course,” he said, his eyebrows furrowed at her.

Her eyes widened more. “What?!”

He rolled his eyes. “Kara, there’s a ladder attached to the wall outside.” He waved his hand at her to get her to come closer.

“Why is there a ladder attached to the Palace?”

“How do you think I used to sneak out when I was a teenager?” He grinned at her.

“Of course that’s why you had a ladder attached to the wall,” she rolled her eyes back at him. “But why are we doing this at night?”

He looked at her incredulously. “Because it’s easier to sneak out in the dark of night than in the middle of the day...”

He stepped out of the window, his feet secured on the ladder as he began to climb down. She watched his form slowly start to disappear, and when only his eyes and the fluffy hair at the top of his head remained, he held out his hand. “Come on, Kara.”

“This doesn’t look very safe…”

“Kara!” he shouted at a hushed whisper. “It’s important. Please, let’s go…before they hear us.”

Kara looked back at the closed bedroom door. “Okay, fine, but if I fall off this ladder and die, you’re gonna have hell to pay.” She reached for his hand.

“At least you’d be out of the contract…” he joked and she sent him a look that said she was about to push _him_ off the ladder.

He laughed, let go of her hand and pointed to one of the ladder’s steps. “Foot here,” he instructed and she followed suit.

“I know how to use a ladder,” she insisted.

“I wasn’t sure,” he responded sarcastically. “Close the window, but not all the way. We’ll probably have to climb back in when we get back later.”

She pushed the window panes almost all the way back to their original position. “Okay.”

“Alright, come on down,” he said and she moved before he could, her foot landing squarely on his fingers.

“Ack!” he exclaimed as he pulled his hand out from under her foot, and she shrieked as she slipped, her foot falling off the step, her hands clutching the sides of the ladder tightly. His sore hand rushed to her behind, cupping her to hold her upright against the wall.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she repeated at a harsh whisper as she tried to get her bearings. She hadn’t noticed his hand gripping her behind until he moved it away.

“Can I move _before_ you move, please?” he asked.

“Sorry,” she continued. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, Kara. Just…keep the shrieking to a minimum, please.”

“Okay, I’ll wait. Just tell me when to climb down.” He couldn’t stop the smile from slipping onto his lips while he watched the nervousness move across her face as she looked down at him.

“You’ve clearly never climbed out a window before, have you?” he asked as he started to descend the ladder again.

“I’m not dying to escape my wicked parents every five minutes…so no,” she confirmed. “I have never climbed out a window before.”

He continued down the ladder, foot after foot, moving with ease until he was halfway down. “Okay, come on down.”

Kara exhaled. “We’re climbing down from the second story window of a giant mansion…” she muttered to herself in disbelief.

When she ran out of steps, she turned slightly, hands still clinging to the ladder as she saw him standing on the ground beneath her.

“Where’s the rest of it?” she called out to him.

“Rest of what?”

“The ladder! It just ended!”

He looked up at her from the ground. “It’s like three, maybe four feet from the ground, Kara. Just jump.”

“I’m not jumping four feet down to the ground, Mon-El.”

“It’s four feet, Kara. You won’t die.”

“I could break a leg! Twist an ankle!”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Mon-El,” she whined as she carefully turned around while on the ladder to face him.

“If you’re not gonna jump, I’m just going to leave you here--”

“No! Mon-El!” she stomped her foot on the ladder.

He laughed. “Kara, just jump. I’m literally right here. I’ll catch you.” He held out his arms in emphasis of his promise.

She hummed for a minute, seemingly debating whether or not she could _actually_ trust him to catch her before she closed her eyes and leapt toward him. She landed solidly against his form, chest bumping his, arms successfully wrapping around his neck as he smoothly wound his arms around her waist.

“See,” he whispered and her eyes fluttered open. “Caught you.”

“Only ‘cause I have good aim,” she whispered back and he grinned, lowering her body so that her feet sat flat on the ground.

“You’re welcome,” he said before he let her go. He stepped away and moved toward the pod, his hand swiping across the side as it opened for them. “Get in,” he instructed as he began to program a destination while he stood outside the pod.

“Where do I sit?” she asked, eyebrows furrowed as she analyzed the pod in front of them.

“Inside?” he questioned back with confusion.

“There aren’t any seats…”

“You don’t need a seat. You just get inside, sit down, stretch out your legs in front of you and you’re in.” She hopped in the pod as he’d instructed, legs stretched out in front of her. He finished pressing some buttons on the screen of the pod before looking at her.

“Your legs can’t be like that, Kara. Spread them. I have to sit between them.”

“What?”

He pushed her knees apart. “I have to sit here to steer. I didn’t put in coordinates for an exact location; just a general area. I still need to guide the pod.” He moved to get inside. “See? Have you never ridden inside of one of these before?”

“Ours have seats…”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Princess. We’re two people cramming into a solo pod in order to escape in the middle of the night, so you’re gonna have to try something new.” The glass windshield appeared, forming and closing them inside the pod as it sped off into the sky.

They had driven for a long while before Kara broke the silence in the pod and spoke up.

“This is taking forever. Where are we going?”

“I told you already. Downtown,” he answered simply.

“This doesn’t look like downtown. It looks like you’re taking me to where the homeless Daxamites live.”

He didn’t answer her. He just kept guiding the pod as it took them to their destination. When he finally found a spot where they could park hidden in the darkness, Kara’s eyes widened.

“Ew, this place is creepy,” she stated. “Why did we have to park here? And which way is it to downtown?” She asked as she took in their surroundings.

“This is downtown,” he answered.

“ _This_ is downtown?”

He opened the pod. “This is the middle of the city.” He gestured around them. “This used to be where everything in this city happened; gatherings, festivals, parties and stuff.”

“Where are the plants?” she asked as he stepped out of the pod. “The trees? The benches? The younger groups playing around and hanging out late?”

“Not here, that’s for sure,” he said as he held out his hand to help her up and out of the vehicle.

“From the looks of it, I thought this was the _bad_ part of town,” she said as she hopped to the ground.

“This whole planet is full of bad parts.”

Kara tugged at the pants on her hips; they were large and kept slipping. “The clothing choices seem to make sense now…”

“This was our City Hall,” he said as he pointed to an obviously abandoned building. “It closed down a long time ago. Now people just come to our Palace with their issues. Not that my parents care much, if at all, about democracy or the rights of Daxamites.” He pointed in the opposite direction. “That used to be a park…where your precious trees were. Now the only trees I know of are in the planting rooms of the Palace or the half dead ones outside on the land of our property.”

They walked for a long while, Kara’s mouth gaping open most of the way in surprise at the decimated and destroyed city in front of her. She knew the Daxamites needed her people’s help in reconstructing the planet, but she didn’t know it was _this_ bad.

“Does the whole planet look like this?” she asked. “That mall we went to…where I went with Alex and my parents and you that one time...it was so nice, clean and well taken care of.”

“Because it’s for the upper classes; for Royalty,” he told her. “What’s ours, we keep well.” He shrugged. “We don’t put effort into the places on the planet that we don’t travel to.”

Kara spotted a group of male Daxamites standing nearby as they walked along what was left of the sidewalk. They were the first people she’d seen since they left the pod. She accidentally caught the eyes of one of them and he immediately stepped toward her.

“Mon-El,” she spoke, fear noticeable in her whisper.

Mon-El caught the movements of the shady looking character and he grabbed onto Kara’s hand, lacing their fingers together tightly. “It’s okay. Keep holding my hand. We’ll just tell them you’re with me.”

Kara nodded as she avoided the eyes of the Daxamite coming toward them.

“Back off,” Mon-El told him. “She’s mine.” Kara held Mon-El’s hand tighter as she leaned into him and away from the man.

“Then what’s she looking at me for?” His words sounded slightly slurred and he was speaking in the Daxamite language from what Kara could make out.

Mon-El switched over to his own language, too. “Accident. It happens,” he shrugged. “She’s not interested.”

“Yeah? You’re not interested?” the man asked, stepping into Kara, his knee bumping her leg as she tried to back away. Mon-El’s hand landed squarely on the guy’s chest as he pushed him off of her.

“Not interested,” Kara repeated in the foreign language as best she could, her eyes meeting the man’s again.

“So, you’re interested in this guy?”

She nodded and Mon-El interjected. “Yes, and we have somewhere to be, so we’re going to go now.”

Kara looked up at Mon-El who let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist, turning them back in the direction of where they were headed before.

“Yeah, whatever, you’re missing out, Princess,” he laughed as he returned to his group of equally as rough looking friends.

Kara’s eyes widened as she was ushered away by Mon-El. “Did he know?” she asked him at a whisper.

“Did he know what?”

“I don’t understand too much of your language, but I think he called me Princess. Did he know who we were?”

“No, he said that because he thinks it’s a compliment, and he used it in a sarcastic way as if he’s not offended that you turned him down. He said it as if you acted like you were too good for him. And you _are_ ,” he smiled. “Besides, most people don’t believe that they’re interacting with Royalty in a casual conversation, never mind when we look like this. No one will figure it out.”

“Oh, okay,” she nodded as her eyes continued to jump from scary looking building to condemned building to abandoned building as they walked. Mon-El’s arm slipped from her waist and she reached for his hand again before he could get too far, her fingers locking with his.

“I think I’m ready to go back to the Palace now,” she said quietly. “I don’t like it here.”

“I know, but I just need to show you one more place,” he insisted.

They didn’t have to walk far before he pulled her to a stop in front of a large metallic building; outer walls that must have been smooth and sleek at one point, but now were rusted and dark.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“This is a school.”

“ _This_ is a _school_?” she asked, her face twisting into one of horror. “This is where Daxamite _children_ come to learn?”

“Well, yeah, but they don’t learn much. Only the elders know much of anything anymore. They teach our culture…Daxamite customs. They don’t learn much else here.” He looked over at her and their eyes met. “All the teachers left years ago…when your people were chased out, since most of them were Kryptonian. The well-educated Daxamite elders are highly respected and they teach at the other school across the city, and at the universities in that part of the city, too…where we live; where the upper classes learn. I’m not exactly sure how it works in all of the other cities on the planet, but I’m pretty sure it’s much the same way.”

“Can’t you just merge this school with the nicer one?” Kara asked as she ran a hand along the outer wall of the building, and watched as some silver flaked off. “Get these kids out of this place?”

“These people here can’t afford it. My parents made sure of that. Travel costs, school uniforms, the education itself.”

Kara shook her head in disbelief. “Why would your parents do that to these people? These are _their_ people after all.”

He knew he wasn’t a great person. His parents had made sure of that, too. He knew they had no interest in helping anyone but themselves, but instead, he sighed, “I don’t know.”

“This is crazy,” Kara said at a whisper.

“Kara, I know you hate me and you hate living here on this planet, but _these_ are the other people you’ll also be helping by fulfilling this contract. I just thought that you should know that too before this went any further.”

That’s when she realized they were still holding hands. She only noticed because she felt him pull away, letting go and releasing her hand as he shoved both of his hands in his own pockets.

“We can head back to the pod now,” he stated as he began to walk back in the direction of where he knew they were parked. Kara silently followed beside him.

When they found themselves standing in front of the pod, “Do you want to ride in the front on the way back?” he asked. “Better view.”

Kara looked at him with wide eyes. “I don’t know how to drive a Daxamite pod yet.”

He shook his head with a smile. “You can relax. I can input the coordinates for the Palace. You won’t need to steer if I tell it an exact location to end up in.”

“Oh,” she smiled. “Okay, sure.”

“Okay,” he said as his hand swiped along the side of the pod, the vehicle opening for their entrance. “Just let me get in first.”

When he was seated, he spread his legs and held out a hand to help her step in. She debated for a moment, sitting between his legs seeming somewhat personal in comparison to the reverse on the way over here. But she reached for his hand anyway, and stepped inside. She felt him shifting, his right arm moving to press at some buttons on the screen in front of her. She felt his breath softly hitting the back of her neck on an exhale. She thought that surely he could have put in the coordinates before she got into the pod…

Of course, he could have put the Palace’s coordinates in the system before she’d sat down in front of him, but he liked being able to feel the heat of her body against his chest for a few extra moments while he programmed the vehicle. “All set,” he whispered near her ear and she felt a nervous shiver run down her spine.

She cleared her throat, “Cool,” she stated as firm as her voice would allow.

Mon-El sat back inside the pod, as much as the crammed little vehicle would let him. When Kara didn’t move back, too, “You can relax against me, you know. It’s a long way home and your back is gonna feel that posture soon,” he said, a finger poking at her spine in reference.

She rolled her shoulders. “It’s fine.”

“Okay,” he shrugged. “Just know that the offer stands the whole way home.”

“Note taken.”

They were quiet for a long while, Mon-El watching Kara’s head turn back and forth as she watched the buildings going by outside. Eventually she’d relaxed back against him; subtly, barely any pressure of her body against his, but it was enough to make a smile slip onto his face. He chose not to say anything about it each time she relaxed further against him. He didn’t want to scare her off. They had almost made it the whole way back to the Palace in silence before he finally spoke.

“This city is a shithole, but sometimes it’s kind of nice to fly at night. Not many lights, but the stars are really easy to see from this planet,” he sighed. When he didn’t hear a response from her and barely felt a flutter of movement, “Kara?” He moved slightly, his head turning around hers to catch a glimpse of her face. Her sleeping face apparently. No wonder she’d become so relaxed against him, her rigid _I still don’t like you much_ posture seemingly having disappeared completely.

He struggled to reach around her again, fingers stretching to tap the screen in front of them. One-handed, he typed a message into the communicator aspect of the vehicle intended for the servants at the Palace. It’d probably be easier to get one of them to quietly open the front door and make sure the coast was clear rather than have him try to get a sleepy Kara to climb back up that ladder and into their room.

A few (entirely too short) moments later, they ended up parked back on the grass near the side of the Palace. It wasn’t long before Rhys came out to get the pod and guide it back into the garage storage.

“My Prince,” he nodded at Mon-El in greeting as the glass windshield of the pod disappeared.

Mon-El looked down at Kara basically sleeping in his arms. One of his hands went to the side of her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. Then both of his hands moved to her sides as he started to get her back into an upright seated position.

“Kara,” he whispered in her ear. “We’re home. You gotta wake up,” he encouraged softly.

Kara stirred, momentarily thrown by his hands changing her position and the cool night air hitting her face. She blinked sleepily as she righted herself, her eyes landing on Rhys standing near her.

“Rhys?” she asked quietly.

“Good evening, Princess Kara,” he greeted in return.

She turned around to look at Mon-El before rubbing at her eyes with the palms of her hands. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s okay,” he shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”

“Did your parents find out we left?” she asked, nodding her head in Rhys’ direction.

Mon-El shook his head back at her. “While you were sleeping, I sent a message home to get help getting you back inside. I thought it might be easier than trying to carry you while climbing the ladder back up to the window. Probably safer, too. I know how much you like safety,” he smirked.

Rhys held out his hand for Kara and she took it, standing and moving to step out of the pod as Mon-El followed suit. “Thanks, Rhys,” he said to the man.

Rhys nodded confusedly. Kara was still a little sleepy, but it was still obvious even to her that Mon-El had never referred to or acknowledged Rhys with the use of his name.

“Someone’s at the door waiting?” Mon-El asked. It seemed like this wasn’t his first time sneaking back _into_ the house either.

“Mira, my Prince,” Rhys nodded.

“Great, thanks,” he reached for Kara’s hand and she didn’t object as he tugged her back toward the front door. He knocked once lightly against it and the door quickly swung open, Mira obviously standing quietly on the other side waiting for the signal from him.

“Welcome home, my Prince,” she bowed at him before turning to Kara. “Princess,” she greeted.

“Thanks for this,” Mon-El nodded.

“Please, come in,” she said as she stepped away from the door. “Before the storm arrives. It’s expected any minute; you’ve returned home just in time.”

“Storm?” Kara asked nervously, suddenly wide awake at the mention of a storm. Mon-El pulled her inside.

“Shall Maeve and I make you two something to eat?” Mira asked, and with perfect timing, Kara’s stomach grumbled eagerly. Mon-El laughed as he looked at Kara who smiled embarrassedly.

“I think we could use something to eat. Bring it to the entertainment room in the east wing?”

“Of course, my Prince,” she bowed again before turning to head to the kitchen.

It wasn’t hard to tell that the mention of the anticipated storm made Kara nervous. Mon-El hadn’t known her very long, but he already knew that Kara _hated_ storms. It was one of the first things he’d learned about her. He also remembered what she had told him about how her mother helped to take her mind off the frightening occurrences.

“I think we should watch a movie while we eat,” he paused. “If you don’t mind spending a little more time in my presence, that is.”

Kara could feel the palm of his right hand in her left; the way his fingers intertwined with hers with such ease. The way his thumb was moving ever so slightly; a gentle, barely there caress against her own. She felt herself nodding before even fully registering what offer he was proposing.

He smiled at her; a soft smile, one without any funny ideas and without hinting at anything else; no sarcasm to be detected anywhere. She followed his lead up the stairs to the entertainment room and she watched as he dimmed the lights, picked a movie and set it to play while she sat on the sofa.

It wasn’t long before they had both ended up changing into their pajamas. Maeve had brought two full plates to them, Mira following behind her closely with tables to unfold and set up in front of the sofa. Kara was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed between them while they ate with the distraction of a movie in front of them. Especially in comparison to the daily meals in silence with his parents in the Dining Hall.

Kara jumped at a clap of thunder and Mon-El saw it from the corner of his eye. “This sofa reclines you know,” he said suddenly, his arm reaching to the side of the sofa, fingers pressing a couple of buttons before he turned back to her. The sofa smoothly began to move, leaning backwards just enough for them to get comfortable. He stretched his arm out along the back. “See? You can make yourself more comfortable,” he stated while she laughed at him.

“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better about the storm; trying to take my mind off of it,” she said quietly. “Because I’m well aware that the sofa reclines.

He shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He turned to look over at her. “You’re welcome.” He felt the cushions dipping slightly as she shifted next to him on the newly reclined sofa.

Then he felt the ends of her hair tickling his outstretched hand and he had to mentally restrain himself from reaching out and tangling his fingers in the strands. They just looked so straight; so smooth. He almost had to pinch himself when, midway through the movie, he felt her leaning into his side. She looked sleepy; her eyes heavy lidded, her breathing slowing to even, quiet breaths.

Kara sighed. She was just so warm and cozy and her eyelids felt heavy. She couldn’t even _imagine_ having to get up and walk all the way over to her bedroom now. Before she knew it, her eyes were slipping closed and she was off to dreamland.

Mon-El let out a yawn, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth before he rubbed at his eyes. It was probably late enough and they should head back to their rooms; the storm dying down outside. He looked down at Kara and noticed that she’d managed to fall asleep completely. He grinned.

It would just be rude to wake her up now. He clicked off the television screen with the remote next to him and relaxed back into the sofa; his body slouching slightly, his head resting against the back of the sofa. It didn’t take long before he, too, was fast asleep next to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave some love if you have the time.
> 
> Twitter: @_ashleymaria_  
> Tag: #ContractuallyYours


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